We're the Same
by FlightfootKeyseeker
Summary: Damian and Maya were just minding their own business, flying over Paris on the way to their next "Year of Atonement" task. The local superheroes mistaking them for enemies wasn't a surprise. Uncovering a supervillain, and subsequently a fellow member of the "Turns out my parent is/was an abusive asshole supervillain" club had definitely NOT been part of his plans for the day.
1. Chapter 1

Thanks to Mini-minou for betaing!

So I've been a fan of Damian for a long time, since way before ML came out. He's my favorite Robin actually. I was excited to see him used in tons of ML fics... and then discovered he was horribly out of character in most of them. And used for bashing and salt mostly. And paired with Marinette for some reason.

The bashing REALLY annoys me, especially in regards to Adrien bashing. He and Adrien have gone through some similar abuse at the hands of one of their parents, though Damian's was WAY worse. Honestly? The two of them would relate and probably become friends.

I wanted to see what would happen if I dropped a CANON-COMPLIANT Damian Wayne into Miraculous Ladybug; this was the result.

This is set between seasons 2 and 3 of Miraculous Ladybug, and during the "Year of Blood" arc in Robin: Son of Batman (2015). Adrien and Marinette are 14, Damian's 12, and I'm not certain how old Maya is, but not much older than Damian.

Disclaimer: This is a Lovesquare fic, with Identity Reveal, Hawkmoth Reveal, and Hawkmoth Defeat. It is NOT a salt fic.

* * *

"Maybe we should take a break."

Damian sighed. "Tt. You can leave at any time you know."

Maya Ducard glared at him. "I'm not leaving! But we've been flying around constantly for the past week, returning things you took, trying to make amends for what you did during the Year of Blood. I want you to try to make amends, to repair some of the damage you did – heck, that's why I'm here! – but I need a break, you need a break, and most of all, Goliath needs a break. He's strong and has a lot of endurance, but even HE has limits Damian!"

The giant red bat-dragon gave a low grunt in agreement.

"See? Goliath agrees with me!"

Damian frowned. "A year, Ducard. A new horrible task every day to 'prove' myself to my mother and grandfather. There's still almost a hundred tasks left to try and undo – or at least to try to fix or make up for as best I can. We don't have time to waste."

Ducard gritted her teeth. "If we collapse – ANY of us – it will take a lot longer. We need to be at the top of our game. And just submerging yourself in this redemption quest without any sort of break IS taking a toll, even if you won't admit it. Mentally, if not physically."

"I'm FINE-"

Goliath bellowed as some sort of cable wrapped around him. Instantly Ducard and Damian stopped fighting, jumping to high alert.

A girl in a skintight polka-dotted suit and a catboy in a similar skintight black suit swung onto Goliath, using their forward momentum to swing them both on top.

The catboy – wait, is that tail a BELT, how is it moving like that? – grinned, then did a double-take, blinking. "Wait, are you-"

Ducard charged forwards before he could finish, the catboy blocking her blows with his staff. "Who are you? More assassins?"

Catboy looked shocked. "No! Wait, MORE assassins?"

The spotted girl looked around carefully, taking in Damian's and Ducard's expressions and body language. Damian held himself at the ready. It looked like maybe this was a misunderstanding, but better to be ready than allow himself to be caught off guard. This could still be a trick of some kind.

"…You're not an akuma, are you?" the girl asked.

Damian frowned. "What's an akuma?"

The girl groaned. "Not again. Chat, I think we might have jumped the gun a bit."

Ducard backed off, still holding herself at the ready but no longer attacking. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The spotted girl sighed and plopped down on Goliath's back, the catboy joining her a moment later. One of his cat ears flopped slightly, increasing his resemblance to an oversized kitten. "I'm Ladybug, and the boy beside me is Chat Noir. We're the local superheroes in Paris. A villain named Hawkmoth is threatening Paris, sending out these tainted butterflies that infect anyone who's feeling a strong negative emotion. It gives that person superpowers, but also corrupts them, twisting them into an evil version of themselves and putting them under Hawkmoth's control."

"A few minutes ago reports started pouring in about some giant beast flying above Paris. Naturally everyone assumed it was an akuma, so we came to defeat it. Looks like we were mistaken though."

Damian rolled his eyes. "No kidding. Now get off."

Ladybug crossed her arms. "You don't need to be so rude about it."

Ducard took one look at Damian's expression and decided to cut in. "Damian's just like this. Don't mind him."

Damian looked at her sullenly. "No one asked YOU, Ducard."

Chat tilted his head to the side. "Hey, I was wondering – are you Robin? I thought you died, but recently I've seen news reports that you were spotted around Gotham City again. But then there's been that whole Robin movement in Gotham lately with a ton of kids and teenagers putting on the uniform, so I wasn't sure."

Ladybug blinked. "Wait, but- I thought Robin was older than that! I thought he was like, sixteen at least?" The spotted girl peered at Damian, narrowing her eyes as she stared at his face. "You've got to be a LOT younger than that."

Who does this girl think she is? "And if I said I was sixteen and that you're just a horrible judge of ages?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't believe you, since I can SEE that your upper right canine's growing in. Generally speaking, sixteen-year-olds don't have baby teeth."

Dammit!

Ducard snickered. "She's got you there."

"This is YOUR fault, Ducard," he muttered.

"If I recall correctly, you said that it had been loose for a while by the time I knocked it out."

He looked away, silently fuming.

Chat coughed, obviously hiding a grin behind his hand. "So back to the topic at hand – ARE you Robin? What are you doing here?"

"Of course I'm Robin! And what I'm doing here is none of your business!"

"Well we ARE the protectors of Paris. If there's any trouble Bugaboo and I should know about it."

Ladybug rolled her eyes at him. "Quit calling me Bugaboo!"

Damian wanted to groan. Great, more flirting. He'd seen it between Father and Selina Kyle often enough, he didn't need to see MORE of it. Was it something about cat suits? Was that it?

Ladybug turned back to Damian, addressing him. "Chat IS right though. If there's any trouble heading to Paris, we need to know."

He glared at her. "I don't take orders from you."

Ducard sighed and cut in. "We're just passing through. We'll be out of your hair soon."

Ladybug gave a curt nod. "That would be goo-"

She didn't get to finish the sentence.

Namely because a giant spoon had whacked her off of Goliath.

"MILADY!" Chat yelled, his face twisting in panic. He dove off Goliath after her.

"GOLIATH, CATCH HER!" Damian didn't know whether they'd make it in time, but he HAD to try. The whole point of this trip was to undo damage, put some GOOD back into the world, maybe even earn redemption and forgiveness. He wasn't going to let her die. He'd taken enough lives by his own hand. He didn't want to see another one snuffed out.

Goliath dove towards Chat and Ladybug… but it turned out to be unneeded.

Damian blinked, then stared. Ladybug's yoyo was wrapped around Chat, keeping her from falling to the ground. Chat, meanwhile, was twirling his staff so fast that it apparently acted like a helicopter blade, allowing him and Ladybug to slowly descend to the ground.

So these two were obviously magic. Great. Just great. He could feel a headache coming on. Well, it seemed like he'd just have to wing it and figure out the limits of their abilities as they fought. Not what he preferred, but he'd made do with less intel before.

And then one of the silliest-looking supervillains Damian had ever seen flew towards the two superheroes.

He had two sets of "wings" – if they could really be called that. The upper pair was made of two giant spoons, while the lower pair were two forks. A pair of knives were strapped to his back.

"People kept saying that the placement of silverware doesn't matter. That it didn't matter whether the spoon goes on the right or left of the fork, and even that the type of fork or spoon didn't matter! Well, joke's on them! I, Table Angel, will put everyone in their proper places AS SOON AS YOU GIVE ME YOUR MIRACULOUS!"

So this was probably an akuma. Apparently akumas were really stupid. Seriously, this guy was more of an imbecile than Condiment King, and he didn't even know that was POSSIBLE.

Akumas were also unobservant. You'd think that he'd notice a giant red bat-dragon descending from above and barreling towards him, even with his back to them, but nope.

He noticed eventually. When Goliath rammed him into the ground.

Goliath descended to the ground, Ladybug and Chat Noir landing a moment later.

There was no rush. The akuma (Damian REFUSED to call him something as stupid as "Table Angel") wasn't going anywhere. Currently he was groaning in a giant crater.

Chat smirked. "Well that's one way to take down an akuma."

He strolled over to the semi-conscious supervillain. "What do you think, Milady? The knife, fork, or spoon?"

Ladybug shrugged. "Try the knives first. He hadn't used them yet, maybe there was a reason."

He nodded. "Makes sense. CATACLYSM!"

The knives crumbled into black powder, a purple and black butterfly fluttering out of the remains.

"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma," Ladybug called out, spinning her yo-yo. "Time to de-evilize!" She caught the butterfly in her yo-yo, then opened it and set it free, now a pure white. "Bye-bye little butterfly!"

As it flew away, a purple liquid mass passed over the akuma, stripping away his supervillain appearance and leaving behind an ordinary man.

The man blinked, looking around wildly. "What happened? Where am I? Wait… Ladybug? Chat Noir? Oh no. I was akumatized, wasn't I?"

"Yes-" Ladybug began telling the man soothingly.

"SENTIMONSTER!" the man yelled, scrambling to his feet as he stared at something behind Ladybug.

"Sentimonster?" She turned around. And came face-to-face with Goliath.

"Oh. Right." She called after the man, "Don't worry! He's not a sentimonster, he's just-" but by that point he was out of sight.

She sighed. "Well, there he goes." She turned to Goliath and smiled. "Thanks for your help. Sorry about that whole being-mistaken-for-a-sentimonster-and-an-akuma thing."

Goliath smiled, sweeping Ladybug and Chat Noir both into a hug.

Ladybug laughed as best she could, with the way she was squished against Goliath. "I love you too."

Chat was ecstatic, his eyes sparkling as he seemed to melt into Goliath's soft fur. A low rumble sounded from his throat.

Damian blinked. Chat could actually purr? Exactly how much of a cat WAS he? His eyes were catlike, his cat ears and tail swiveled and moved like a cat's, even though they were CLEARLY fake… did he just like, have the magic essence of a cat or something?

Come to think of it, he didn't actually know HOW Ladybug and Chat Noir got their powers. He didn't even know whether they were human or not.

Hm. This was worth investigating.

After a few more moments of hugging, Goliath let Ladybug and Chat Noir down.

Chat dropped to all fours, still leaning into Goliath and purring, eyes half-lidded in contentment.

The "magic essence of a cat" theory was seeming more likely by the minute.

After several more moments, a beeping noise sounded from Chat's ring. He blinked. Looked at it. Then abruptly jumped up, face turning as scarlet as Ladybug's suit as he chuckled. "Uh, heh heh heh, I'll just be going now, nice meeting you guys!"

"Chat!" Ladybug called out, holding out her fist. Chat smiled, raising his fist to meet hers.

"Pound it!" they chorused.

"Just one more thing I need to do," Ladybug said. "Lucky Charm!"

A statue of a small red-and-black spotted bird fell into her hand. She blinked, glancing over at Damian. She studied him closely.

"WHAT?" he asked her irritably. "What was that all about? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I don't think you should leave just yet," she told him. "My Lucky Charm produces an item that I can use to succeed; sometimes by giving me the tool I need to beat an opponent, and sometimes by giving me a hint about what to do next. This bird looks like a Robin, so I think you're supposed to stick around."

Damian frowned. He hadn't been planning on it before, but... he didn't fully know what was going on here. And as both Batman's partner and the former prince of the League of Shadows, he knew how valuable a bit of intel could be.

"Fine," he stated abruptly. "But I'm not going to stick around for long."

Ladybug looked slightly annoyed, then sighed. "That's all I ask for."

She threw the bird into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Swarms of ladybugs erupted through the air, whirling around the city. One swirled around the crater that Table Angel (with some unsolicited help from Goliath) had made. When the ladybugs left, the crater was gone.

Damian stared. So THIS was the 'Miraculous Cure' she'd been talking about. This… this could be HUGE. Collateral damage was a major problem in superhero fights, if this could reset that…

No way was he going to leave now. He wasn't sure whether this power could only repair damage related to akumas or sentimonsters, as she said, or whether there was a more general principle, but he had to know more. At the very least who Ladybug and Chat Noir were so he could find them if he needed them.

A beep sounded from Chat's ring again, a beep from Ladybug's earrings sounding in tandem with it.

"And now I REALLY should be going," Chat called.

As Chat ran past Damian brushed against him, lightly placing a device on his belt.

"I've got to leave as well, I don't have much time left." Ladybug hesitated. "You might need to hide Goliath somewhere; he's obviously a huge softie, but Parisians might panic."

Damian scoffed. "I'm not an imbecile, girl. And neither is Goliath. He knows how to hide."

She shot him another irritated look, but apparently decided that it wasn't worth responding to the slight insult.

Instead; "Look, I've got to go too. I'll try to figure out what the Lucky Charm was hinting at and contact you later."

As she threw out her yo-yo, hooking it onto the nearest building, Damian swiftly placed an item on one of her spots. A moment later she was out of sight.

Damian smirked.

Ducard glanced over at him suspiciously. "What are you so happy about?"

Damian took a device from his toolbelt and flipped it open.

Two dots blinked back, both moving rapidly.

Ducard stated flatly, "You put trackers on them, didn't you."

Damian's smirk widened. "Always get to know who your allies are."

Ducard let out an exasperated sigh. "How do the Batfamily have so many friends again?"

He chose not to dignify that with a response, looking back at the screen instead. "Now we just-"

The dots disappeared.

Damian blinked.

Ducard stifled a giggle.

"Did they discover my trackers? They didn't seem like the most observant lot."

"Guess you're not as sneaky as you think you are," Ducard teased.

Damian's eyes narrowed. "We're getting to the bottom of this. I'll go to the dot on the left, you take the dot on the right. We'll look for clues about what happened."

Now it was Ducard's turn to smirk. "I'm guessing the fact that the left dot is the catboy is totally irrelevant?"

He looked away.

Ducard burst out laughing.

"I don't get what's so funny," Damian muttered.

Ducard wiped the tears from her eyes. "Damian, I've seen the way you've been looking at him. Looks like someone has a crush~"

He shot her an irritated look. "That's not it."

"Really? Because it looks like it to me."

He shook his head. "Tt. I have no romantic inclinations towards him or anyone else."

"Then what was up with the look on your face when you looked at him? Don't think I didn't notice."

He stared in the direction that Chat Noir had gone and swallowed. "It's just… he reminds me of some of the stray animals I've rescued."

"Oh." She was quiet for a moment, then looked back down at the tracker, squinting at it. "Ok, I think I know where to go. I'll head for where Ladybug's tracker disappeared."

Damian gave her a curt nod, then ran away. He had a catboy to find.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to Mini-Minou for betaing!

* * *

Damian peered up at the manor in front of him. Huge, imposing –

"How quaint."

– if you didn't happen to grow up as the prince of a society of assassins and the son of a billionaire, that is.

He took stock of his surroundings. There were cameras at the gate, but ONLY at the gate it seemed.

"Tt. What brain-dead simpleton designed this security system? Does the owner REALLY think this will be sufficient to catch any criminal infiltrating the place? Idiot."

He launched himself onto a rooftop, getting a better angle to see the whole manor.

Two things stood out from the new vantage point; an open window that seemed to lead to a boy's bedroom, and a weird patch of wall that wasn't quite flat. To the casual observer it might appear to just be some strange design on the wall, perhaps an artistic choice.

Damian was NOT a casual observer.

He narrowed his eyes. "Things just got a little more interesting."

He swung over to the patch of wall, running his fingers over it. Grooves spiraled across it, fitting together in just such a way that…

"I see. So this patch of wall is some sort of covering that can expand and contract. Now why would a perfectly ordinary, everyday citizen – well, aside from being rich – have one of these?"

There was nothing more he could do with that patch of wall. Time to investigate the window.

Swinging back around the manor, he took a better look at the room… and its occupants.

He narrowed his eyes. Seems I wasn't far off about the spirit of the cat.

Inside a boy typed away at his computer, looking up news reports about Robin. Not a huge surprise, seeing as how the boy was almost certainly Chat Noir.

Slightly MORE surprising was the tiny black cat-like creature stuffing his face with cheese.

Seriously, how was he even eating that much, that cheese was bigger than his entire body?!

Oh wait, magic. Stupid question.

So he'd almost certainly found Chat Noir. Not exactly why the tracker had disappeared, but he had a start.

Time to do a little digging.

He brought out his phone and got to work.

Hm. Seemed like this mansion belonged to Gabriel Agreste, a world-famous fashion designer. He'd been reclusive ever since the disappearance of his wife nearly a year ago, only making a handful of public appearances. Judging from what little he could dig up, he seemed like a rather cold man who didn't put up with anything he considered nonsensical or silly, such as when he was called into a game show without apparently having agreed to it. Damian actually agreed with his displeasure at being tricked into participating, but his tone and body language… it was a little too familiar for his liking.

There wasn't much info on the wife, Emilie. Apparently her maiden name was Graham De Vanily. Her family owned a studio called Graham films. From her few public appearances, it appeared that she'd gradually been getting sicker and weaker over the months before her disappearance, though there was no news of her being diagnosed with any illness.

And then there was the final member of the family, Adrien Agreste, AKA Chat Noir. A fourteen year old model, he had plenty of professional photos and lots of celebrity appearances.

Damian's eyes narrowed.

Plenty of celebrity appearances… but little outside of that. Not until a few months ago, when he started going to public school. Then he started being tagged in other people's photos, being talked about as a friend. Before that the only person his age who seemed to know him on a personal level was Chloe Bourgeois, and it took only about a minute of research to figure out that she was a stuck-up rich brat. It was always possible that his personal life was just kept private before this, but… well, Damian's instincts were telling him that something was very, very wrong here.

Time to get a little more hands-on. Luckily the security of the mansion was ABYSMAL. Seriously, if Gabriel had lived in Gotham, both he and Adrien would have been kidnapped dozens of times in the last few years.

He didn't need to make much of an effort. A few minutes after he'd put down the phone and started surveilling the mansion, a woman – judging by her appearance, most likely Nathalie, Gabriel Agreste's assistant, opened the door. The little cat creature disappeared into Adrien's shirt, likely to conceal himself from her, and Adrien left the room. Luckily for Damian, he left the window open.

He quietly alighted in the room. It was huge and had a lot of stuff in it, but nothing of interest, except-

He followed his nose. And wished he hadn't.

"YUCK!"

So that cat creature had an entire hoard of the stinkiest cheeses that Damian had ever smelled in his life. And judging by how huge the stash was, he ate a LOT.

He swiftly closed the cabinet door. If anything else was in there, it wasn't worth sacrificing his nose to find it.

His next discovery was a little less nauseating to his senses.

Damian pulled out a photo from the trophy where Adrien had hidden it and several other similar photos.

So the flirtations weren't just banter then. Great, he's lovesick.

Damian rolled his eyes and put the photo back. It was always a pain to deal with couples on a team, they were always making googly eyes at each other and being gross and NOT concentrating on the mission.

There wasn't time to investigate much else – not without risking discovery. He planted a few bugs and cameras and moved on, entering the air duct.

He pulled up the floor plans of the building to use as a map… and soon frowned. The floorplan differed slightly from what he'd seen from the outside, especially with that strange covering. Not TOO big a surprise – that covering was obviously meant to conceal SOMETHING – but the size of the difference was pretty staggering. It seemed like at least a 500 square foot room had been secretly added to the mansion and NO ONE had noticed.

But even that didn't explain what he saw in front of him.

He frowned. Now where was THIS little fork in the road supposed to go?

The duct split, one piece of it following the regular floor plan, as shown in public records, and the other decidedly NOT following that, instead curving steeply downwards.

A secret place that – judging by how long and how steep the ductwork was – lay underneath a mansion? If it was some sort of cave he should get Bruce to sue for copyright infringement.

It was not a cave.

A huge chamber stretched before him. It looked almost like a mausoleum, with its high ceiling, ornate windows, and general over-the-top atmosphere.

A cult, perhaps? They were fairly common – WAY too common – in Gotham, but he'd been hoping to maybe not run into them as often elsewhere.

He should have known better. Sheep existed everywhere in the world.

Still, if it was a cult, it must be a small one. The walkway wouldn't be able to fit more than one or MAYBE two people, and the "island" at the end of it wasn't exactly huge. Speaking of which…

He walked to the end, peering at the closed pod. A human-sized pod that was obviously supposed to be the focal point of the room underneath the manor of a millionaire who he strongly suspected wasn't Father of the Year, when his wife had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Yeah this boded well and wasn't suspicious in the slightest.

He prepared to hack the pod to open it up, or at least to get information on what was inside, but discovered there was no need. There was no security on it, it only required a button press to open.

Seems like Gabriel Agreste hadn't thought to include any contingency measures for someone breaking into his lair.

The pod doors opened, revealing pretty much what Damian had expected.

Because of COURSE Gabriel was keeping his "missing" wife in a pod underneath the manor. Naturally. Why wouldn't he? That's a perfectly normal thing for a perfectly normal man to do.

Question was, was she alive and in some sort of coma or suspended animation, or dead and being kept preserved?

He examined her closely, checking her for signs of degradation and any sign of life. If she was breathing it was so low as to be undetectable, and her heart rate also appeared nonexistent. However, while her vital signs were missing, she appeared to be in good health otherwise, with no sign of rot or decay at all.

Suspended animation it was then.

After taking a picture, he closed the pod. If she was in suspended animation it may still be possible to revive her. He didn't want to be responsible for more death.

A small insect flew by – a white butterfly.

What was a butterfly doing here? Then again, what was ANY of this doing here, especially the foliage.

Wait… a white butterfly – like the one that had been released when the akuma was purified.

A butterfly emerged from a cocoon on a nearby branch. Dozens of similar cocoons hung nearby.

A reclusive millionaire who was hardly seen out of his house, two massive rooms that didn't appear on the floor plan, one of which housed his supposedly missing wife, and dozens of the same type of butterfly that Hawkmoth used to create his akumas?

It was possible that Gabriel Agreste wasn't Hawkmoth. It was also possible that Damian would spontaneously grow wings and decide to become an opera star. Both possibilities seemed equally likely.

Might as well set up some cameras and bugs and then get out of here. If Gabriel descended the elevator, he'd have trouble leaving without being spotted. Wouldn't be a problem if Gabriel was only down here for a short period of time, but if he wasn't…

Swiftly he returned to the duct, heading back to the surface.

As he crawled around the vents, he left numerous bugs everywhere he could without leaving the vent, along with tiny cameras at each vent opening. When preparing to break into the lair of a supervillain, it paid to be prepared.

He shot off a quick text to Ducard, telling her to meet up with him at a certain rooftop he'd spotted that had some good cover. They needed to exchange notes.

It was time to take down a supervillain.


	3. Chapter 3

So honestly this chapter should probably be titled "I got distracted by the Lovesquare." Also one of my favorite chapters, because DAMMIT these two are too cute! Thanks to Miniminou for betaing, she was really helpful! (also pretty sure this is one of her favorite chapters so far too.)

* * *

"You're late."

"We're not exactly on a time limit, Damian. And I didn't agree to meet you at a specific time," Ducard said with a huff.

He narrowed his eyes. "You were only a couple miles away, it should NOT have taken this long for you to arrive."

"You know what?" Staring at him flatly, she said, "Yes, it shouldn't have. I took this long because I was buying donuts. But hey, you don't want any, that's cool. I'll just have them all myself."

Looking at the bag she was carrying, it said "Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patissiere".

"I suppose some sustenance is a decent reason for delay," he stated begrudgingly.

She smirked at him. "I knew you'd see it my way."

He chose to ignore that.

While sitting on a rooftop munching donuts, they compared notes.

"The dot disappeared at this bakery," Ducard told him between bites. "I'd thought that maybe Ladybug had just gone in for a bite to eat and the tracker had fallen off, until I spotted the owners' daughter, Marinette. She looked a lot like Ladybug – she even had the same hairstyle as her – but she didn't exude the same air of authority that Ladybug did, so I wasn't sure it was her."

"You went invisible and followed her?" Damian said.

Ducard nodded. "I had to be really careful. Her bedroom door is actually a hatch door, you have to climb up a ladder to reach it. Luckily she wasn't looking behind her while I opened it, and it closed quietly enough that it wasn't a complete giveaway. She DID look around suspiciously for a moment, but she didn't discover I was there."

"I'm guessing she was Ladybug?"

Ducard nodded. "This little ladybug-like floating magical creature emerged from her purse. They started talking about what happened during our little encounter today, why the Lucky Charm might have said that we were needed here. After listening for a bit, I planted a few bugs and then left while she was in the bathroom."

She gave him a critical look. "You know, she thought you were pretty rude today. It might not hurt to lighten up a little, be a bit nicer."

"I don't do nice," he huffed.

"I'm just saying, sometimes it helps when needing to work together with others."

"Hmph."

Ducard sighed, then changed topics. "So, what did you discover?"

Now it was Damian's turn to smirk. He told her what he'd found out.

Ducard winced. "Chat's father is Hawkmoth? Do you think he knows?"

Damian considered. "From what we saw of him, he didn't SEEM like the type to go along with that… but I haven't seen much of him yet. He might just be a good actor. Though considering that he's in love with Ladybug and his reaction to her being in danger, if he DOES know, I doubt that he wants to hurt anyone – especially her."

"Maybe we should tell him then and see what his reaction is?" Ducard suggested. "He COULD still be a good enough actor to fool both of us, but I doubt it."

"Oh, we're going to do more than that," Damian grinned. "You WERE just talking about working together with others. Ladybug and Chat Noir surprised us. I think it's time we repaid the favor."

* * *

So this wasn't the only sighting of Robin and his companions.

Adrien sat in his computer chair, looking at various international news stories he'd found. Only a few had clear shots – Robin hadn't exactly been sticking around for close-ups – but those clear shots were unmistakable. Giant furry red dragon-bat things weren't exactly common after all.

(Well, that Adrien knew of. Discovering Miraculous and getting acquainted with magic in general had thrown a LOT of old assumptions out the window.)

He'd been right about Robin having disappeared and presumed dead for awhile it seemed, though he'd been back for several months now. He'd have to ask him about that at some point. He certainly HOPED that Robin had just been grounded or something, but looking at news reports of the Batfamily's behavior just after Robin's disappearance, he got a sinking feeling.

It wasn't like he was totally unfamiliar with death, at least of a sort; he'd been caught by akuma numerous times, and not all akuma were benign. He'd never heard the full story of what happened with Timebreaker. But considering that his life apparently depended on defeating her, plus there being a Ladybug from the future but no Chat, he could make an educated guess.

Maybe Robin had just gotten badly injured and came back once he was healed. That might explain why he was gone for so long and why the Batfamily was so violent while he was gone.

He really, REALLY hoped that was the worst of it. It had to be. Right? He'd seen Robin, he looked fine now. What's the worst thing that could have happened to him?

…Dammit. Don't think about it.

Ok, changing tack, why would the lucky charm point them towards Robin? He was useful in defeating the akuma, sure, but it was nothing he and Ladybug couldn't have handled.

Considering what had happened on Heroes Day, maybe he was needed for some extra backup? Even with their team, they still struggled against Hawkmoth's onslaught. Their whole team was taken out in minutes! Maybe they needed some more experienced help and that's why the Lucky Charm indicated that Robin should stay? God he hoped not.

But… they had no idea why Hawkmoth hadn't pulled the stunt with releasing hundreds of akuma like that before. He might be able to repeat it, even just this short time later.

A pit opened in his stomach. That many akumas on a regular basis? Not only would it be incredibly difficult for him and Ladybug to deal with, but the city's business would grind to a halt. Usually akumas were at least SOMEWHAT localized, so that while one corner of the city was impacted, most of it was left unscathed. Wasn't always the case, but usually.

With Scarlet Moth attacking on a regular basis? It would make things a LOT more difficult. People had gotten pretty good at bouncing back, but they had limits to how quickly they could resume business-as-usual after having dodged akumas or been turned into mind-controlled puppets or frozen or knocked out or whatever.

Or perhaps… Batman was sometimes referred to as "The World's Greatest Detective". Maybe Robin had inherited some of his investigative prowess? He and Ladybug didn't even know where to begin in tracking Hawkmoth down, maybe he'd have a better idea? He dealt with some more regular, police-grade crimes in Gotham after all.

He rolled back in his chair, sighing. Well, not much use speculating. He didn't even know how to find Robin right now anyway. Hopefully the Lucky Charm's meaning would become obvious later – if not to him, then to Ladybug.

A hand clamped over his mouth and nose, smothering him with some kind of cloth. Reflexively he struggled, attempting to break free. Unfortunately, struggling required oxygen. Which required breathing. Which meant inhaling whatever substance the cloth was covered in...

As his head swam dizzily, he distantly felt his ring be removed.

NO! Plagg…

He had to…

He… had to…

He…

...

…

…

Wha-?

Something was in his lap.

Something large.

And warm.

And soft.

Blearily, Adrien cracked open his eyes.

A twin pigtailed head pressed against his chest, face buried in his shirt.

Oh.

This must be a dream.

He pulled Ladybug slightly closer. She moaned and snuggled up to him even more, pushing herself even further into his lap.

As she adjusted, he caught sight of her face and clothing.

Ah.

So Marinette was Ladybug.

Well that explained his weird feelings towards her.

He put an arm around her, holding her close, tucking her beneath his neck.

He frowned as her pigtails dug into him, but was unwilling to dislodge her.

Maribug whined slightly, turning her head upwards and blinking up at him, eyes half-lidded.

"Oh, it's Adrien," she mumbled, before laying her head flush against his chest again.

He purred in response.

"Mm…? Kitty…?" she murmured. "Oh... Adrien is Chat… that makes sense"

He purred harder. He'd dreamed of them finding out each other's identities many times before, but this? This was his new favorite.

"Hey Adrichat," she mumbled against his chest. "Did you know I love you? I've wanted to tell you so many times, but I never could. Get a hamster with me?"

He smiled. Yep, DEFINITELY a dream, but damn it was a good one. No way was he this lucky. She even wanted a pet hamster like he did!

"Of course, milady." He yawned. "We'll… we'll name it-"

"You're awake. FINALLY," a boy's voice called, tinged with exasperation.

Adrien frowned. Nope, he did not want to wake up right now. His sweet little Maribug was cuddled in his arms and she'd just confirmed that she loved him. School could wait. Photoshoots could wait. AKUMAS could wait. He just wanted to be with her, even if this was just a figment of his imagination. At least let him have this!

Evidently Maribug agreed. She cracked open one eye again, glaring at the boy – Robin apparently, Adrien guessed that his subconscious had wanted to work in the encounter from earlier in the day – and she glared at him as ferociously as was possible while half-asleep and cuddled in a boy's arms.

"No." she stated firmly. "Adrichat cuddles now. Wake up later."

Robin let out a frustrated grunt. "You two are ALREADY awake. Now get up, I have important information for both of you."

Well this figment of Adrien's imagination was persistent. Really though, did his mind think it could fool itself? …Maybe shouldn't think about that too hard.

"Nuh uh," Adrien said, lips pursed in a pout, then turned his attention back to Maribug. Ah, she smelled like cookies. How had he never noticed before that Marinette and Ladybug had the same scent? …Then again, he didn't get a lot of chances to smell Marinette. That would be weird. And in the waking world maybe they DIDN'T share a scent.

After all, just because Marinette was Ladybug in the dream world, that didn't mean they really were the same person in reality.

He frowned. He really, REALLY wished this dream was true.

"I did not knock you out this hard," Robin said.

Adrien ignored the manifestation of his responsibilities that had apparently taken Robin's form. Dammit, he could get up LATER, he could survive being late to school, Plagg could survive waiting a little bit longer for cheese, whatever the reason a portion of his mind was trying to get him to stop cuddling with the love of his life, it could wait..

As her pigtails collided with his neck again, Maribug's eyes drooped slightly open. "Hair ties," she mumbled quietly. "Take off." She attempted to raise an arm towards her head, but dropped it after only getting it a few inches off the ground, evidently too exhausted to do more than that.

She wanted her hair ties out? Well, who was Adrien to refuse?

Luckily he didn't have to move his arm as far as she did. It meant temporarily shifting his right arm so that he was no longer fully cuddling her with it, but it was a small sacrifice to heed His Lady's request.

Slowly he worked one of her hair ties out of her hair, then shifted again to reach the other one. It took a bit of work, but he managed it.

"That's it, you two are getting up," Robin growled, starting towards them.

Both Maribug and Adrien let out unhappy noises, Maribug cracking open her eyes temporarily to join Adrien in death-glaring him.

Robin didn't get very far. The girl next to him caught Robin by the arm. Oh yeah, there was a girl there. Had she always been there, or did Adrien's mind insert her just now and pretended that she'd always been there? Oh who cared, it was all a dream anyway

"Wait, maybe hold off on getting them up just yet?" she pleaded.

Adrien silently cheered. YES, his mind must have created a counterpart to push back against the manifestation of his responsibilities, one that didn't require him to stop cuddling with his little bug!

He glanced down at her, snuggled up in his arms. His eyes blew open.

Her hair poofed out from both sides of her head, finally free of the hair ties' confinement. Gently, he ran his fingers through her hair, the silky smooth strands easily slipping between his fingers. Maribug closed her eyes and snuggled up even closer to him, making a small noise of contentment.

He HAD to be dreaming – no way beauty this radiant could exist in the real world. Though if it could, of course Maribug would possess it.

"Why should I?" Adrien heard Robin say belligerently. He paid him no mind. Hopefully that girl would stop him, and if not, he wanted to enjoy what little time he had in this fantasy while he could. "We should do this as quickly as possible."

The girl – Adrien vaguely remembered fighting her that afternoon, he guessed that his mind was trying to compensate for that by making her into his defender – let out a loud sigh. "Look they're pretty exhausted, especially Marinette. They're gonna be useless until they get some more rest anyway, and they need to be at the top of their game for what comes next. Waking them up now is going to cause us to need to delay more."

Robin was silent for a moment, then grunted. "FINE. Two hours, and then they're getting up if I have to hang them upside down from a building."

Adrien silently cheered. He could stay snuggled with Maribug forever, but he could make do with two more hours.

His eyes started drooping once more. He rested his head against hers and slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

…

…

…

Adrien blinked his eyes open. That had been a NICE nap. He'd needed that. Such a nice dream too, he'd have to write that one down!

Wait.

He didn't remember going to bed.

Looking around, he processed his surroundings.

It looked like he was high up, open sky above him.

Rooftop. I'm on a rooftop.

It seemed an awful lot like his dream.

This weight on his chest…

He glanced down, his heart skipping a beat

Marinette lay against his chest, snuggling up with him just like in the dream, her long, unrestrained hair running down her back.

It wasn't a dream.

…It wasn't a dream.

IT. WAS. NOT. A. DREAM.

His heart went from skipping to jackhammering.

In his dream, Marinette was Ladybug.

In his dream, she'd figured out that he was Chat Noir.

In his dream, she'd loved him. Had for awhile.

And this wasn't a dream.

Mouth dry, he nudged her. "Ladybug?"

"Mm?" she blinked up at him groggily. "What?"

She glanced around.

Processed for three seconds.

Then jumped up.

"Wait, WHERE- WHAT- HOW did we get here?! What's going on! Last thing I remember…"

She froze. Her voice went up an octave. In a strained voice she asked, "That dream… where you were Chat Noir and we were going to get a hamster together… that wasn't a dream, was it?"

He stifled a laugh. "Afraid not, Milady."

The noise that came out of her mouth wasn't something he'd ever heard emerge from a human's mouth before, just this weird shriek-groan-chirruping-laugh mix.

Huh. Maybe that was like a noise that ladybugs would make when translated to human? Not like he hadn't made his share of cat noises. His purring was what gave him away, after all.

And then it kept on going. And going.

She had an impressive set of lungs.

"Are… you okay?" he asked hesitantly. He'd been thrilled when he realized that she was Ladybug, but not surprised. She'd always reminded him a bit of Ladybug, and his calling her an "Everyday Ladybug" a few weeks ago was just him acknowledging that.

As soon as it crossed his mind in the not-dream, everything just clicked.

To an outsider it might seem like Marinette and Ladybug were pretty different, but being close to her on both sides of the mask, Adrien knew differently.

Marinette came off as shy, hesitant, and anxious a lot of the time – and that wasn't wrong.

Ladybug stood as a brave, shining icon to confidence, heroism, and ingenuity, standing up to Hawkmoth and telling him "No, you're wrong!" When she promised to protect Paris, she said it with such confidence that one couldn't help but believe in her. She could take the most mundane object and turn it into the centerpiece of an insane plan, plans that honestly made his head hurt just trying to figure out how she came up with them.

But Marinette could ALSO be confident, heroic, and ingenious. He still remembered when she helped to take down Evillustrator-

Oh. So THAT was the secret mission Ladybug was on. No wonder she couldn't tell him.

Marinette had helped save them both, figuring out how to use his staff to free them both from the akuma's imprisonment. She'd taken charge and won the class election with a rousing speech, and DAMN had she stepped up to the plate as Class President. Without her, Marc and Nathaneal may never have gotten together, much less have merged their talents to create a comic book for everyone to enjoy. Without her, Chloe might never have reconciled with her mother..

But while he KNEW how awesome Marinette was, in and out of the mask, he also knew how vulnerable she could be. Those first two days as Ladybug she seemed unsure of herself, of what she was doing and whether she was good enough. And a few days ago during Heroes Day, she'd doubted for a moment about whether they could win when faced with such daunting odds.

He knew the Hero of Paris, the Class President who always had a solution for everything… but he knew the girl beneath those too. She could get upset, angry, sad, and be uncertain. They'd laughed, cried, and commiserated together when things went wrong.

Come to think of it… when she was talking about heartbreak as Marinette, and telling him about the boy she loved as Ladybug… while half-asleep she'd mumbled about how she was in love with him, had tried to tell him so many times.

He- he was the boy she loved?

The boy she kept turning him down for… was himself?

He let out a groan. Plagg must've been laughing his furry little butt off about this.

Wait… where was Plagg?

He glanced down at his hands.

His ring was missing.

Oh no. Oh GOD no.

"MILADY!" he cried out, half-panicked.

That broke her out of the strange frozen-shrieking state she'd been in for the past minute.

"Cha- Adri- whatever I call you, WHAT? I don't think I can handle any more surprises! I still haven't wrapped my brain around this one!"

He'd love to oblige her. He really would. But… "Marinette… where are your earrings?"

Her pupils shrank, her eyes bulging out. Her hands flew to her ears.

There was nothing but smooth skin.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" she yelled, growing higher-pitched and more panicked with every word. "HAWKMOTH MUST'VE KIDNAPPED US AND HE HAS BOTH MIRACULOUS AND HE'LL MAKE THE WISH AND TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"

Maybe he would. Maybe he wouldn't. But right now, his partner, his closest friend, the love of his life and the most amazing person he'd ever known was his first priority.

Stepping towards her, he wrapped her in a hug, squeezing her tightly. She tensed for a moment, then relaxed, hugging him back. He rubbed circles on her back in the hopes that the stimulation would calm her down further. He hated seeing her in distress.

"The world hasn't been destroyed yet," he mumbled into her hair. "That means we still have a chance. And even without your Miraculous, you're incredible, milady. Between the two of us, we'll figure it out. Just you and me against the world."

She gave a little choking-sobbing laugh, but at least she WAS laughing now. They'd be alright. As bad a situation as it was, they were together and free. And together? Together there wasn't a force on the world that could stop them.

"You two are the most sickly sweet couple I have ever seen," a boy's voice said.

Adrien and Marinette's heads whipped around to face the voice. Robin stood in front of them, arms crossed, looking grumpy.

So business as usual then.

Wait… Robin had been in his dream. At the time he thought that he was a figment of his imagination, but if the REST of it was real…

Marinette evidently had the same thought. "What are you doing here?" she asked suspiciously.

Robin glared at her. "I acquired both you and Chat because I came across some important information. But both of you just REFUSED to wake up. Seriously, it's been two hours, how were you still that out of it?! I know I dosed Adrien correctly at least."

A girl materialized beside him. Like, actually materialized. One moment there was empty space, and the next the girl who'd been with Robin when they'd met before just kind of appeared. Maybe she could turn invisible? Either that or teleport. "Hey! I dosed Marinette correctly too! They must just have been really, REALLY tired."

"YOU TWO WERE THE ONES WHO KIDNAPPED US?!" Marinette exploded. "WHY- HOW- THAT'S TERRIBLE!"

Adrien tensed beside Marinette. She seemed to be handling the yelling-at-Robin bit fine on her own, but if she needed protecting, he had to be ready. He wasn't sure what he could do against Robin and his friend without powers, but he had to try. No way was he letting her get hurt. Not when he could prevent it.

Robin seemed unfazed. "It didn't harm you. You're both fine. You two need more training though. I expected at least a LITTLE resistance, but neither of you managed to lay a hand on either me or Ducard. It was pretty pathetic."

Adrien hissed. Calling him pathetic? He didn't like it, but fine. His father had implied it often enough. He was used to it. Calling MARINETTE pathetic? No.

Marinette's eyes widened in realization. "Wait… you were the ones who kidnapped us… WHAT DID YOU DO WITH PLAGG AND TIKKI?!"

Robin blinked. "Plagg and Tikki? I'm guessing those are the small beings that were hanging around you two. I haven't done anything to them. They disappeared when I took your Miraculous."

"GIVE. THEM. BACK," he and Marinette growled in unison.

Damian opened one hand, showing them the Ladybug earrings and the Black Cat ring.

The boy gave a shit-eating grin. "You want them back? Show me what you've got."

* * *

I remember when writing this chapter, I went "Okay, how can I have Damian meet up with both Adrien and Marinette and facilitate an identity reveal without either of them protesting or getting out of it? And what would this whole conversation with them be like here? How would he persuade them to come with him?" And I was stuck. Then I remembered how he assembled the Teen Titans. By tazing, gassing, or otherwise knocking out each of them, kidnapping them, and stringing them up in the restraining device from The Incredibles (no, seriously. I checked. It's identical, from the wheels on the side, to the lightning arcing everywhere, to the sphere constraints around to the hands, to even the electrocution capabilities if the prisoners get too feisty.) So I went "that works!". But with something a lot less severe, since A. such severe measures weren't needed, with them being ordinary civilians without their Miraculous. They weren't gonna escape super easily. and B. I wasn't gonna do that to either of them. I didn't want someone who was supposed to be "good" to hurt them, plus they probably wouldn't be willing to work with him at ALL if he really hurt their partner. Yeah, I love Damian, but there's a reason he has a reputation as a jerk. He's just not JUST a jerk, there's a lot more to him, especially when you look into his reasons and mentality.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to MiniMinou for betaing, and Draxynnic and DFCFanfics for helping to brainstorm the fight scene!

* * *

Marinette quickly scanned her surroundings. There wasn't much. There was a door they could try to open, maybe regroup, but if Robin had locked it they were sunk. That would still make a good Plan A – bolt through the door, regroup, find supplies and maybe try to fashion a trap of some sort, or even get to Master Fu so they could use other Miraculous – but she needed a Plan B as well.

As her eyes darted to the side, she caught a glimpse of Adrien's tense expression.

NOPE.

SHE COULD NOT THINK ABOUT HIM RIGHT NOW.

Not with how she'd been snuggling into his chest and he'd been holding her and he was also Chat Noir which meant he loved her back and the soft looks her kitty had given her and-

NO. BAD MARINETTE. THINK ABOUT ADRICHAT LOVE REVELATIONS LATER, CONCENTRATE ON GETTING MIRACULOUS BACK NOW.

Seriously, what was up with Robin?! If he really WAS Robin. At this point she had her doubts. Robin was supposed to be a good guy, and knocking out and kidnapping her and Adri- (CHAT, think of him as Chat, she knew how to function with Chat Noir, she couldn't afford to get all flustered and clumsy now- ) –Chat, kidnapping her and Chat didn't exactly scream 'I'm a good guy you can totally trust'.

Maybe the Robin Lucky Charm hadn't been a sign that she needed Robin, but a warning to look out for him? She thought she remembered him talking about having important information for them, but she'd been so out of it at the time, she could easily be imagining it.

Whatever, she'd figure it out later. If he was an enemy, they had to take him down and get the Miraculous back. If he was an ally (and if he was she was going to have a TALK with him about how to make friends) then they still needed to take him down and get the Miraculous back, since it was probably part of some stupid test. Either way, her path was clear.

At least they probably didn't have to worry about him killing or injuring them too badly. If he wanted to do that, he could've done it while they were sleeping. Which meant that he probably WASN'T an enemy, because he didn't have much to gain by doing this if he was.

She was SO yelling at him later if this was a test.

First, time to try the door. She darted over towards it, keeping one eye on Robin. He looked on, appearing bored. He didn't move.

On the one hand, that was good. He wasn't attacking right away. Maybe he was waiting for them to get their bearings? It increased in the odds that this was a test and that he probably wouldn't try to hurt them too much or misuse the Miraculouses.

On the other hand him looking bored meant that he probably didn't expect her to be successful and- yep, door was locked. If Chat was transformed, that wouldn't be a problem. But if Chat was transformed, that would solve half the problem in the first place.

No use thinking about "what ifs" – she needed to deal with the here and now.

Ok, so she was limited to what was on the rooftop. What did she have?

Hm… no purse. That limited her options. All she had were the clothes she had on, and she imagined that Adrien was the same way.

On the rooftop itself, there were some bits of trash and debris. Let's see – some stray candy wrappers, snack bags, plastic bags, some loose metal pipes and screws, probably left over from some sort of construction.

She could work with this. Nothing insanely complicated and convoluted, but she didn't have time for her usual convoluted plans. Especially since she couldn't communicate privately.

She darted over to the debris, handing the metal pipe to Chat. "Fight him as best you can, follow my lead," she whispered.

He nodded. "Always, Milady."

She blushed. DAMMIT Chat, did he have to look at her with those adoring eyes while unmasked? She'd been able to handle it while he was transformed, she'd gotten used to it from him and whenever those looks got to her, she'd been able to remind herself that she was in love with Adrien.

Knowing that Adrien and Chat Noir were the same person? Seeing those looks from Adrien? He was going to kill her. R.I.P. Marinette, she had a good run. Found dead on a random rooftop at age 14, still red from blushing.

Though… he'd ALWAYS had special looks for her. Chat had his adoring look at Ladybug, but as Adrien he'd often given her that soft look, the one that Alya pointed out in videos and photos of them – the one he'd given her when she'd fallen in love with him all those months ago.

Maybe Adrien hadn't been in love with Marinette romantically – or hadn't realized it at least – but he loved her, regardless of the combination of masked and unmasked.

She was beginning to realize that she did as well.

She shook her head. DAMMIT Ladybug, FOCUS! Love life later, battle now!

Chat rushed at Robin, pipe in hand. Hopefully he'd be able to keep Robin occupied, at least for a few seconds.

She snatched up a plastic bag, making sure her back was turned to Robin so he couldn't see what she was doing, and tucked it into her sleeve. The only thing she had going for her was the element of surprise. She had to make it count.

She edged closer to where Adrien was fighting Robin. Though "fighting" might be a misnomer. Robin wasn't making any moves towards Adrien. He wasn't even trying to get away. He just dodged Adrien's attacks, looking faintly bored.

It kept him occupied. That was good enough.

Robin's eyes followed her, seemingly curious, but he made no move towards her either.

Not good. The element of surprise was all she had. She couldn't really regain it now, not by herself.

Luckily she didn't have to.

Long months of akuma battles had attuned Chat and Ladybug to each other's movements. She knew her partner and he knew her. She didn't have time to relay her plan to Chat.

She didn't have to.

In one fluid movement she pulled the bag from her sleeve, unfurling it quickly. Simultaneously Adrien moved to the side, leaving her opposite himself with Robin in-between them. He aggressively swung the pipe at Robin's midsection, forcing him to step backwards towards Marinette.

She brought down the bag over Robin's head. Adrien dropped his makeshift weapon, lunging for Robin's closed fist.

Just as Adrien made contact with his hand, Robin jumped back, actively putting distance between himself and Adrien for the first time in the fight.

"ENOUGH!"

Adrien and Marinette paused.

Robin shook his head, dislodging the plastic bag.

He narrowed his eyes. "If I'd been fighting back, you'd both have been dead in seconds. The two of you have little sense of self-preservation and no idea how to keep yourself from being injured in a serious fight."

A smile slowly spread over his face. He turned to face Adrien. "Still… while it was obvious that you were used to battling with a lighter weapon – or at least with enhanced strength so it SEEMS lighter – your technique was passable, taking that into account."

"As for you Marinette, using the plastic bag to obscure my vision wouldn't have worked. I can fight blind if I have to. There's a reason why my costume has a hood when no other Robin's did – I can afford it. Even if a foe pulls it over my head to blindfold me, I can still fight. Conceptually it was a decent idea, considering what you had to work with."

He gave them a gap-toothed grin. "You two are overly reliant on your Miraculous. You're sitting ducks as civilians, and if someone competent guns for you, you're dead. But you have potential."

He extended his hand towards them, unfurling it to reveal their Miraculous.

Glaring at him, Marinette and Adrien snatched them back. Slipping her earrings back on, she let out a silent prayer. Please let these be real. Please don't let this be some cruel trick. Please let Tikki be-

A light shown, expelling itself from her earrings.

"TIKKI!"

She caught the little bug in her hands. "Are you okay? He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Tikki shook her head. "I'm fine. I just wasn't manifested, that's all."

Then she seemed to fully take in exactly who all was there. With herself in full view. And talking.

"Uh… meow meow?"

Robin crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

Marinette sighed. "It's no use pretending, Tikki. Robin's the one who kidnapped us in the first place."

"You, a red-and-black spotted bug-like floating creature the size of the hamster, meowed as a way of pretending you were a cat," Robin stated, drumming his fingers against his arm.

"Hey, it's worked before!" Marinette cut in.

He gave her a look.

She didn't waver. This boy had kidnapped her and Adrien, stolen Tikki and Plagg, and he had the nerve to make fun of Tikki afterwards?

No. She would NOT be intimidated by him. She was not going to put up with him looking down on her or her friends.

He wanted to throw shade? Fine. She'd throw it right back.

"You don't get to criticize Tikki, me, or any of us for making poor decisions. YOU KIDNAPPED US. YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK."

He snorted. She resisted the urge to punch him in the face.

"I needed to see whether you'd be a help or a hindrance. After seeing how you did without powers, I believe you two could be useful."

"And why should we help you?" Marinette said through gritted teeth.

Robin looked at Marinette, then Adrien, who had stopped cuddling Plagg and been watching their confrontation.

"Because I know who Hawkmoth is."

Wait, WHAT?!

Adrien stared at Robin, slack-jawed. He knew? HOW?

Robin looked at Adrien with something like… was that pity?

"I needed to know who you two were, so I placed trackers on both of you. Ducard followed Ladybug while I followed Chat Noir. It didn't take me long to figure out that Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste… but that wasn't all I discovered."

* * *

Dread pooled in Adrien's stomach. How could following him home have possibly led to Hawkmoth's identity? He didn't have anything to do with Hawkmoth! (Well, aside from the obvious.)

…Right?

Robin looked Adrien in the eyes. "Hawkmoth is your father, Gabriel Agreste."

Adrien's heart stopped.

There's… there's no way.

"No. No, you're LYING! I know he hasn't always been around much, but… but he cares about me! He's not a bad person, you HAVE to be lying. Or- or maybe just mistaken. Yeah! He CAN'T be Hawkmoth, we suspected that before, but then he was akumatized right afterwards! You're WRONG!"

He glanced over at Marinette. Why hadn't she responded, backed him up?

"Right, my Lady?"

She stared blankly ahead, frozen.

Icy tendrils crept up Adrien's chest. "Marinette, what's wrong?"

That snapped her out of her reverie. She bit her lip. "Chat… I don't think we can rule him out based on that. Not after Heroes Day. He had an accomplice, remember? Whoever was using the Peacock Miraculous to create that Sentimonster moth could easily have just switched Miraculous with him. We can't rule anyone out based on them being akumatized before. And the timing was highly suspicious. He just happens to become akumatized right when we start suspecting him of being Hawkmoth? It might not have been a coincidence."

"No, that can't be right! It CAN'T!" Adrien pleaded. Whether it was to Marinette, Robin, or himself, he wasn't sure.

"It can, and it is," Robin said. He took out a device from his toolbelt and pressed a few buttons. A holographic display flickered into existence, showing what appeared to be live feeds from Adrien's house.

Except for one feed.

"…Mother?"

Why… why was she there? They'd never found a body. It made sense for her to be in a coffin, but… it'd been nearly a year since she'd disappeared. She shouldn't look this… intact.

Adrien's stomach turned thinking about it, but he knew at least the basics of how decomposition worked. Even if she was embalmed, she still shouldn't look this good after all this time.

Unless…

Robin met his gaze. "I checked her over while I was down there. I couldn't detect any vital signs, but based on the lack of any sign of degradation or rot, I believe that she's not dead either – most likely in some sort of suspended animation, though how that is being achieved, I'm not sure."

Not dead?

She… she was alive?

His mother was alive?

He could see her?

He jolted, breathing heavily, palms sweating.

Robin had seen her. In person. He'd been close enough to check for vital signs.

"Where is she?" he breathed out, barely above a whisper, eyes locked to the screen.

A white butterfly fluttered past her pod. Then another. And another. The same kind that Hawkmoth used.

"In Hawkmoth's lair," Robin said gently. "In a giant cavern beneath the Agreste Manor."

All this time.

ALL. THIS. TIME.

She was RIGHT THERE.

Right below him.

And he never knew.

How many sleepless nights had he spent sobbing into his pillow, his mother gone with no explanation?

How long had he wondered what had happened to her?

And the whole time she'd been only a few hundred meters away.

His father had never told him.

Never bothered to confess that she was alive, that he knew where she was.

His father who… who was almost certainly Hawkmoth.

Oh GOD. The- the butterflies.

His father was Hawkmoth.

"…Why?" he asked, quivering. Why would he do this? HOW could he do this? This – he'd thought – he'd thought that his father cared about him, in his own way. At least cared about his safety.

But his father was the one putting him in the most danger. Not even counting when he was Chat Noir, his father had deliberately made akumas in his vicinity, where he should have known that he'd be in danger. He'd even made akumas whose MAIN GOAL was to attack him, to hurt him.

And yet he claimed to care about his safety? That that was the main reason why he kept Adrien on such a tight leash, locked away from the rest of the world?

No. That had never been the true reason.

Marinette placed a hand on his shoulder. He was grateful for that. He felt like he'd shake apart without her touch.

His mother wasn't dead and wasn't missing. She'd been near him all along

His father was an evil man who had never really cared whether he was safe. Had never cared about him as a person at all.

His world was crumbling, and the only constant-

A low rumble vibrated through his body, different from his usual purrs.

Vaguely he remembered reading that cats purr when they're happy and content – but also when they were injured in an attempt to help heal.

But there was no healing this.

"Kitty," Marinette spoke softly, turning so that they were face-to face. "Whatever happens, whatever your father's reasons, I'm here for you. Never forget that. We're a team. You and me against the world, remember?"

"I- I can't pretend to know how you're feeling. What it's like to have everything you thought you knew disintegrate before your eyes. But I won't leave you."

Marinette. Ladybug. She- she was still here.

Maybe things had changed. Two of the most important people in his life were the same person. But that didn't change who she was.

His mother was alive, but still gone, in a way. His father wasn't who he thought he was, wasn't the sort of person he had told himself he must be.

But he still had Marinette.

And not just her.

He had Plagg.

He had Nino.

He even had Chloe, though she had a lot of growing to do.

He had people he could rely on.

He wasn't alone.

With a sob, he collapsed into Marinette's arms.

She hugged him tight, whispering quiet assurances, stroking his back. He couldn't even parse what she was saying – she was too quiet and he was too out of it for that – but he appreciated the soft, comforting tone of her voice nonetheless.

After a few moments she shifted, lifting her gaze from Adrien to Damian. "I need to talk with Adrien for a while. Help him process. Plus – well, there's a high chance of him being akumatized right now. I need to be ready to catch butterflies. We can talk about what to do about Gabriel later. Not much later, Adrien is NOT going to spend another night in that house, but once he's in a better place."

Oh. Oh CRAP. He hadn't even thought of that! The idea of being turned against His Lady…? He shuddered. Surely Gabriel wouldn't- oh who was he kidding, of course he would. If he thought it would give him half a chance of winning, he wouldn't hesitate. He'd certainly proven that he was fine with throwing Adrien's in harm's way. Making him harm others, harm the people closest to him? Well since when had Gabriel given a crap about Adrien's feelings or the people he cared about (aside from the people that Gabriel also happened to care about. Probably. At this point Adrien wasn't sure whether Gabriel had ever truly cared for anyone.)

Adrien would rather die than harm Marinette. She was the person he cared the most about it in the world. Besides, she was more important than him. Without her, Paris couldn't be restored. The world could survive without Adrien for a little while. Without Marinette? Not so much.

He trusted her to fix everything. To bring him back. She was Marinette after all. She always found a way.

"Tikki, Spots on!"

A pink light ran up Marinette's body. Bare skin and cotton clothing replaced by a red-and-black suit.

"Hold on, kitty," she whispered in his ear, gripping him tightly.

He nodded mutely. He'd known that Marinette was Ladybug of course, but seeing it so obviously, so undeniably? He just wanted to sit for another few minutes and process.

If only Ladybug's secret identity was the only thing he had to think about.

Gripping an arm around his waist (his cheeks pinkened at the sensation), she threw her yo-yo, flinging herself and Adrien away.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to MiniMinou for betaing!

Also the flashback Damian has is ripped straight out of Robin: Son of Batman Volume 1: Year of Blood. (Not totally sure of the exact issue number). Damian's childhood SUCKED. Well, still sucks. I mean, he's only twelve, he's still a child.

* * *

Ladybug swung through the city, searching for a particular rooftop. It took her a moment to get her bearings – she'd swung all over the city, but the place that Damian had chosen to take her and Adrien to was in a section of the city she patrolled less frequently.

Seriously, why was _kidnapping_ his go-to? He could have just asked-

Adrien tensed in her arms. Abruptly she noticed that she'd been squeezing him too tight, and judging by the flash of fearfulness that crossed his face, had probably looked scarier than she intended.

"I'm not angry at you kitty, never at you," she told him quietly. He relaxed a bit, though he still seemed pretty wary.

Of course he would be. The person he should be able to trust the most had lied to him, abused him, had even BEAT him just a short time ago. (He'd beaten her too. But. She was not his child.)

All of his excuses for hurting Adrien – chiefly his "I have to keep Adrien safe" argument – completely null and void. He was the one Adrien needed protecting from. The only people who'd tried to hurt him were akumas, which were entirely Gabriel's fault, and – albeit unintentionally – Adrien's overenthusiastic fans.

Not that Adrien had seemed to hold it against his fans, even when they were chasing him and getting way too uncomfortably close. She'd seen that post Wayhem had made with him putting an arm around Adrien and Adrien looking surprised and a little freaked. At the time she'd been more focused on the horde of people running after Adrien and the akuma trying to capture him, but she'd later learned that that was the first time Adrien had met Wayhem. Wayhem hadn't meant any harm of course, from what she'd learned from Adrien later, he really was a pretty nice person, he just didn't have much sense of boundaries when it came to his celebrity crush.

…Okay, maybe she could empathize with Wayhem more than she would like. She'd stolen Adrien's phone out of his locker after all.

Adrien didn't seem to hold it against Wayhem at least, even though it had caused him a lot of difficulty at the time. He may have been uncomfortable with Wayhem's actions and with being chased around by seemingly half of Paris, but he never seemed to think of it as wrong.

Wait.

That... that actually matched up with a lot of other behavior she'd seen from Adrien. She'd always wondered why he put up with Chloe hanging off him when it clearly made him uncomfortable, why he barely pushed back.

She'd chalked it up to Adrien just being nice and not wanting to push away a friend (even if Chloe wasn't a very GOOD friend), but… thinking about his behavior during the Gorizilla incident, as well? It seemed deeper than that.

Knowing now just HOW horrible Gabriel was now? She had a pretty good idea of why Adrien just sort of… accepted whatever people did to him.

Especially with what she knew of his father. He'd always seemed cold and distant, putting way too much pressure on Adrien to be perfect, and then barely acknowledging his existence even when Adrien met his absurd standards.

He didn't care about Adrien as a person. That was clear now. As a commodity sure, but his actual feelings? Not at all. His attitude while they were fighting against Simon Says (_and seriously, what was he THINKING during that, sending an akuma after himself? He nearly died!_), with dismissing Adrien's concern and sending him to his room when he showed emotion wasn't a one-off incident.

Telling Adrien that he was allowed to enforce boundaries, to tell off his fans if they were getting uncomfortably close? That it was wrong for them to invade his personal space if he didn't want them there?

No. That would make Adrien less _marketable_ after all.

Plus, it might give Adrien the idea that he deserved boundaries around Gabriel as well. And Gabriel couldn't have that, now could he? Might interfere with the notion that because Adrien was Gabriel's son, he had to do whatever Gabriel told him to do, despite his own feelings on the matter. That Gabriel might be WRONG.

No wonder Adrien didn't seem to know how to enforce boundaries. He'd been actively taught that he wasn't allowed to have any.

She let out a breath, trying not to let her face show how furious she was. As if she needed more reasons to hate Gabriel.

That was definitely a conversation for way, WAY later though. Adrien had had enough of his worldview crumbled and shattered today, and would likely have more destroyed before the day was over.

Breaking down all the poisonous ideas and beliefs that Gabriel's abuse had instilled in Adrien would take time and energy. Not all of it could or should be done in one day.

Right now, her top priority was stabilizing what Adrien had left, giving him something to cling to.

The rest could wait until Gabriel was defeated and Adrien was safe – _truly_ safe, not Gabriel's definition of the word.

Maybe later during therapy (and he NEEDED therapy after this. Had needed it for a while honestly). Maybe after one of those sessions, they could talk about how to enforce boundaries, getting Chloe to back off and fans to give him space and privacy.

Hm. Chloe only listened to one person. Maybe Ladybug should have another heart-to-heart with her...

All of that was for after Hawkmoth's defeat though. Right now…

She looked down at Adrien, still held tightly in her arms. A soft rumble ran through his body, attempting to self-soothe.

She hoped it gave him some small modicum of comfort.

They lighted on the small rooftop. Adrien stirred, breaking out of whatever thoughts had been running through his head during their short trip.

"This place… this is where I set up that candlelit dinner."

She nodded. "It seemed like a fitting place to talk. Especially with the new identity revelations."

He perked up. "What you said before – was it true? That you've been in love with me for awhile?"

How had he-?

_"Did you know I love you? I've wanted to tell you so many times, but I never could. Get a hamster with me?"_

Oh.

So that part wasn't a dream.

Normally she'd burst into flames at the thought of telling Adrien that, but-

She looked at his hopeful, almost desperate expression.

But this time she was glad she did.

It may not have been the confession she'd wanted, but it was the one Adrien needed.

If it gave him something to hold on to, some reassurance that he was loved, that he was _worthy_ of love – she couldn't regret the unusual circumstances.

She smiled at him softly. "It's true. I've been in love with you – with Adrien-you – since the second day of class. That day I'd misjudged you. I refused to listen to you. Yet you didn't hold it against me. Instead you reached out to me. You bared your heart to me, and- you gave me a gift. A small gesture of kindness. You gave me your umbrella so I wouldn't get wet in the rain.

"That kind gesture, that raw sincerity towards someone who you didn't even know, who had even shunned you – how could I not fall in love?

"It has always been you, Adrien. Always. And if I hadn't met Adrien, if I'd only met Chat, I expect that a certain kitty would have stolen my heart away. I think he was already starting to."

Tears welled up in Adrien's eyes. "Y-you.. you always…?"

She nodded. "Always."

He slid to the ground. She joined him, hugging him all the while.

"You are loved. You are _worthy_ of love. Not for what you can do, but for who you are."

He curled into her, sobbing.

She murmured soft lullabies her Maman had sung for her when she was distressed. She couldn't understand the words, but that wasn't important. He just needed to know that she was here. That she wouldn't leave him. That she cared.

Periodically she glanced out across the open sky. She didn't think that he'd attract butterflies just yet – these seemed like more happy sobs and a release of emotion than anything else, not necessarily negative emotions – but if the akuma was in the area, it didn't take much to attract it.

A few minutes passed. Adrien remained curled up against her, clinging to her like a lifeline. Which she supposed in a way she was.

If only they could remain like this forever. Just cuddling with each other, giving comfort.

But life was not that nice. As much as she was happy to cuddle, it was time to address the REAL reason she brought him here.

Because of course Hawkmoth had to ruin everything.

She was so looking forward to punching him in the face. Preferably multiple times. With extreme prejudice.

Gently she nudged him so his head was in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair, messing it up and giving it more of his Chat Noir look.

Belatedly she noticed that Adrien wasn't the only one purring – a second soft rumble was emanating near his chest.

She smiled. Right now she might be the main one helping Adrien, but Plagg was still contributing in his own way, reminding Adrien that he wasn't alone.

"Adrien, you have to talk about it," she told him softly, stroking his hair.

He whined, nuzzling into her non-preoccupied arm.

"I know it hurts. I know you're afraid. But I'm here. I won't let any butterflies come near you."

She'd stuff'em down Gabriel's throat until he choked on them. (Okay, realistically she'd just catch and purify them like normal, but a girl could dream.)

A few moments passed.

Then a few more.

Just when she thought she'd need to gently prod him to talk again (as much as she really, REALLY didn't want to), he spoke.

"Father's always been distant, even cold. Even when Mom-" he shuddered, curling up even more. But he didn't stop talking. "E-even when she was well, he'd been standoffish. He sometimes checked in to see whether I was meeting Agreste standards, but that was it. Any approval I could earn was a treasure. Especially since if he disapproved – well, he may not have been able to threaten me with pulling me from school back then, but playdates with Chloe would 'conveniently' interfere with some business he had to attend to. Even if that made no sense. Sometimes he'd drop the act entirely and just cancel because I was too emotional or too loud to have someone over, or to go over to her place. Except when it was convenient for keeping Chloe preoccupied while he was talking to her parents, of course. Somehow it was never a problem then."

He took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Mom always told me that he cared about me in his own way. That his high expectations were because he wanted me to do the best I can. That he just was never quite sure of how to express his emotions. That he loved me deeply."

"I- I believed her. How could I not? She was my mom, she HAD to know. Besides, he was my father. He must love me. Right? Barely talking to me except if he needed something or to tell me off – well children are supposed to obey their parents, to be seen and not heard. Forgetting my birthday three years in a row and just hastily giving me the first thing on his desk and shooing me away – well he was really busy, of course he forgot something as small and insignificant as my birthday. I really thought he was changing on that front too. He- he gave me that scarf this past birthday. I thought he'd noticed me. That he was trying to put in an effort."

Marinette's stomach dropped. She swallowed. "Gabriel didn't get you that scarf."

He shifted so he could look up at her face. "He didn't? I mean he didn't give it to me HIMSELF, Nathalie brought it- oh." His face morphed into a look of disappointment and resignation. "Nathalie was the one who actually got it for me, didn't she? I was so unimportant he couldn't even do it himself."

She winced. "That… wasn't exactly the case either. That scarf was MY birthday present to you. I even had to sneak into the house in order to make certain I was able to leave a note with my name on it. When you showed up the next day wearing it, I was so thrilled! But then you said it was a gift from your dad, and I just… couldn't correct you. You seemed so happy to believe that, I didn't want to ruin it for you."

He stared up at her, eyes open wide. Oh crap, she'd messed up, he hated her for keeping it secret, she'd messed up SO BADLY-

"You- you did that? For me?" he choked out. "You kept it secret, let Father get the credit – because you thought it would make me happy?"

She gave a slow nod.

Tears welled up in his eyes. "Marinette… that… that's…! I… I don't know what to say except… thank you. For caring. Even when my father didn't. Even when Nathalie didn't. You- you've always been here for me, haven't you?"

He took a deep breath, looking up at her with pure adoration in his eyes. "Thank you."

She melted.

She thought she couldn't be any more enamored with him, but seeing those smitten kitten eyes?

"Wou're yelcome – I- I mean you're welcome."

NOT THE TIME, STAMMER.

She took a deep breath. Get ahold of yourself, Marinette. Adrien needs you to be functional and coherent right now.

His face dropped a moment later. "Nathalie… I guess even she didn't care much, huh? And she was willing to steal from you in order to cover up for my lack of present. She's always at least been willing to let me be with you guys more than Father was, but if there was any conflict between what I needed and my father's wishes? Father always took priority."

He looked up at her sadly. "She never even apologized to you I'm guessing? Tried to make up for stealing your gift?"

She shook her head.

He let out a breath. "I thought not."

Even Nathalie had ended up letting him down.

Wait… Nathalie…

She gasped.

Adrien looked at her in alarm. "What is it? Is there an akuma?"

She shook her head, biting her lip.

Oh hell, he was NOT going to like this.

He looked confused. "Then… what?"

She took a moment to gather her thoughts. This was going to be painful, but it needed to be done. Better to tell him her theory now than to be blindsided in the middle of battle.

"Gabriel has an accomplice, remember? Whoever was using Peacock Miraculous? Well, who would make more sense to be the accomplice than Nathalie, his assistant?"

His eyes widened. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but all that came out was a choking sound.

"It's not confirmed yet!" she hastened to add. "He might have some other accomplice, someone who he mostly talks to as Hawkmoth. But if we're looking at people we know he trusts, people who could help him with his plans the most… well, she's the most likely suspect."

He just continued staring at her. She thought she might have broken him, until he let out a small, wry laugh. "Of course. Of COURSE she'd be helping him. Why not?"

"We don't know that for sure yet, kitty," she reminded him, afraid of how totally he was accepting this.

He shook his head. "Maybe not, but… your instincts are rarely wrong. If you think it's her, you're probably right."

He chuckled. "You know, it's funny. I was thinking that Father and Nathalie might be a good match for each other. Turns out they are… and I wish they weren't."

Oh HELL. He'd been hoping that his father and Nathalie might get together? That she might become his stepmom? Maybe that his family could heal and become complete again, in their own way.

In reality, he never really had them at all.

She hoped that the Gorilla wasn't in on this. Please, let there be at least one adult in his life who isn't secretly a horrible human being and who cares about him as a person.

No adults in his life who loved and valued him as a person, only one friend for the first thirteen years of his life (and that one friend not exactly being a great person, though she had improved a little), being cooped up in his own house for most of his life, only being trotted out for special events or to exploit his looks for cash, never for anything he _chose_ to do… how was Adrien even able to FUNCTION?!

She really, really hoped that Emilie had been as kind and wonderful of a person as Adrien seemed to think she was. That he'd had at least one decent person in his life who cared about him, who gave him love and affection and listened to what HE thought.

But… she had her doubts. Adrien had never had a birthday party before Nino tried to throw him one. He'd had no friends other than Chloe. He'd actually been MORE isolated back when his mother was around then when she wasn't.

She was clearly more openly affectionate with Adrien than Gabriel was. She could tell that just from the pictures she'd seen of him and his mom. But just taking into account how incredibly isolated and alone Adrien had been all his life, she had been a pretty lousy parent.

Unless… maybe Adrien wasn't the only one Gabriel had been abusing. Maybe Emilie had been trapped in an abusive marriage, unable to escape. Maybe she'd been doing the best she could at least trying to keep Adrien as comfortable, safe, and happy as possible without setting Gabriel off. She still remembered the scene after Gabriel had become the Collector, how he'd knocked down and broken so many pictures of his son, even the one that Adrien must've drawn when he was very young.

For that to be his response to his son losing a damn book by accident, even one as important as she knew that Grimoire to be…? It didn't speak well of his responses to any other 'infractions' that Adrien or potentially Emilie may have committed. Especially with how he'd compared Adrien's "dramatics" to Emilie's back when they were facing Simon Says, before sending Adrien to his room.

Was it messed up that she was actually HOPING that Emilie had been terrorized by Gabriel? As awful as that was to think about, at least it would mean that Emilie was a decent person and that Adrien wouldn't have been alone his entire life, that he would've had one solid positive influence.

How had Adrien come out of his life with an actual sense of morality at all?!

She opened her mouth, intending to ask Adrien more about what his mother's relationship with his father had been like and more details on what her relationship with HIM had been like… and then thought better of it.

Maybe Emilie had been abusive and controlling in her own way, and Adrien just hadn't recognized it since it was the closest thing to genuine love and affection he'd ever known. Maybe she'd been abused herself and doing her best to shield Adrien from the worst of Gabriel's impulses, and Adrien hadn't recognized that either because, again, it was 'normal' to him. It was all he'd ever known, and as isolated as he was, he had very little frame of reference to draw from beyond Chloe's family (she winced. She wouldn't call them a very 'functional' family either) and media. And that was assuming that Adrien's media diet wasn't restricted, either.

Had he ever seen Tangled? …Actually, maybe it was better to hold off on that movie for awhile. A _long_ while. It could rub salt into the wound, to see some of Gabriel's – and possibly Emilie's – behavior reflected back so clearly.

She shook herself slightly. Back on topic, Marinette, what movies Adrien has or hasn't seen isn't the point.

The point was that whatever Emilie was actually like, whatever kind of person she was, didn't matter right now. She's in a coma either way. Trying to speculate about her true nature, confronting what she was really like, isn't something Adrien needs to do Right This Moment. That can go in the "go over later in therapy" bin along with "learning about boundaries".

What's important is to tackle things that might come up during the fight with Hawkmoth. Things that have to be worked through now so Hawkmoth can't take advantage of them later. There's only so much emotional bandwidth one person can have. Don't use it up going over things that aren't an immediate threat.

"-adybug? Ladybug!"

She jolted. "What? Akuma?"

Adrien shook his head, looking concerned. "You spaced out for a minute. I've called your name five times."

She blushed. "Sorry, just thinking about things."

"Anything I need to be worried about?"

She shook her head. "Not right now, kitty. Not for awhile. You have enough going on. Just concentrate on getting out everything you need to. Everything that Hawkmoth could use against you. Anything else can wait."

Drawing a shaky breath, he stammered out, "R-right."

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. "As bad as father could be, I never thought he- that he'd- that he could DO anything like this. I knew he didn't care much about other people. That the only people he cared about at all were himself, Mom, Nathalie, and me."

He let out a bitter laugh. Marinette's heart clenched at the sound. "I guess he didn't even care about me though, huh? Or even Nathalie. When we faced him on Heroes Day, he said he 'had nothing to lose'. I guess Nathalie and I are nothing to him.

I should have expected that though. As little as he cares about other people, why should he care about us? He's willing to akumatize anyone he can, do whatever it takes to steal our Miraculous. Even akumatize small children and babies, turn them against their parents. Akumatize parents and siblings and set them loose on their family. He doesn't care. It doesn't _matter_ to him. Everyone else in the world are just tools and pawns, to use as he sees fit and discard when they're no longer useful. He hurt everyone I care about."

Tears glistened in his eyes. "My father's a monster."

She hugged him tightly. "Maybe he is. But whatever he is, whatever he's done, it's got nothing to do with who YOU are, and what YOU do. You keep on calling him 'father', but… he doesn't have to be. He might have given you his DNA. But he hasn't been a parent to you. From the sound of it, he never has been. You don't have to be associated with him, if you don't want to be. After we expose him, he's going to lose all parental rights. It'll be up to you how much you want to see and talk to him, or whether you want to have any contact with him at all. If you don't, no one's going to force you. And if they try… well, Ladybug and Chat Noir's opinions hold a lot of weight. They won't try for long."

"Will we even still be Ladybug and Chat Noir after this?"

Marinette blinked. Actually, good question. She'd never asked Fu since that was so far out, but would he allow them to keep their Miraculous without the threat of Hawkmoth requiring it?

*_Hisssssss_*

Plagg flew out of Adrien's shirt, seething. "Kid, if he tries to take me from you after all of THIS, I'm gonna cataclysm him myself. I ain't leaving you. Enough people have done that already. And you'll ALWAYS be Chat Noir – you always ARE Chat Noir – transformed or not. It's who you are. No one can take that away from you, and don't let them tell you otherwise."

"Guys… I- I-!" Adrien buried his head against Marinette as she stroked his head and back, Plagg returning to his place at Adrien's chest and resuming purring.

"None of us will leave you, Adrien. We won't let that happen."

He craned his tear-stained face up towards her. "But what if I'm the one who has to leave? My nearest relatives live in London!"

Well, crap. She hadn't known that.

But she wasn't going to let a little something like that separate Adrien from his friends. From his TRUE family.

She was Ladybug, and Ladybug always had a solution.

"Then we'll make a case for why it would be less disruptive for you to stay here. That after everything you've been through, it's best that you're kept with your support network, even if it means living with people who aren't related to you. I'm sure my parents would take you in, and Chloe could probably swing having you stay at her father's hotel as a last resort. And if that doesn't work… well, you know how there are other Miraculouses I've been giving out? One of the Miraculous I have access to is the Horse Miraculous, which has the power of teleportation. Maybe Adrien will have to stay in London. But Chat Noir can come visit Paris anytime he likes."

He frowned. "But… would Master Fu let me keep the Horse Miraculous just so I can still see you guys? He never even saw me until you pressured him into it, and he hasn't seen me since. Do you really think he'd let me take it for such a mundane reason?"

Marinette flashed a sharp, predatory grin. "I don't care whether Master Fu would let you keep it or not. You're the one who's on the front lines, not him. And you need to be able to see your friends. The adults in your life might have let you down. But your friends? We won't. If that means going against Master Fu, I'll do it. You're more important. You deserve to be with the people you love, who love you back."

Plagg piped up. "I'm sure Kaalki would be willing to help. She loves being with people who are 'glorious and famous', she'd take to you pretty quickly. If Fu's difficult, she'll probably be okay with just coming anyway."

Adrien looked concerned. "Just… make sure not to pressure her, ok? I don't want to force her to do anything she doesn't want to do, or make her feel like she has no choice."

Plagg nuzzled into his shirt. "Don't worry kid. I know what it's like having freedom taken away from you. I wouldn't do that, ESPECIALLY on your behalf. I know how much you'd hate that, and I would never use you to justify doing it to someone else.

Marinette smiled at him gently. "You have friends who care about you, Adrien. We won't let you fall."

Adrien nuzzled into her shirt, his breathing slowing as he finally relaxed.

He looked so vulnerable right now.

But she was Ladybug.

She was his friend.

She wouldn't let anyone hurt him.

* * *

"I thought Tim was the 'stalker Robin'."

"I am not stalking them!" Damian protested, lowering his binoculars.

"Suuuuure you aren't," Ducard drawled. "That's why you're up in a tree hundreds of meters away from them, watching them secretly as they have what I'm guessing is a private, intimate moment."

"I am OBSERVING them," Damian said with all the indignity he could muster. "Keep your eyes on BOTH your enemies and your allies; one thing both Batman and the League of Shadows agree on."

"Ooooor," Ducard said, "You're a nosy busybody who doesn't know how to mind his own business."

"_TT._" Damian pointedly turned away from her, raising his binoculars again.

"They seem comfy, huh?" Ducard said, squinting to look at the resident superheroes, an almost longing tone to her voice.

They did. Cuddled up against each other, seeming content to just be together, despite the revelations of not even an hour previously.

Being close enough with someone that just having them there was enough to soothe even the greatest distress, even the upheaval of one's whole life-

What was it like to have someone like that?

To be someone WORTHY of having someone like that?

"Hey," Ducard said strangely.

He looked over at her.

She had a soft look on her face. The usual snarky, sometimes mocking tone to her voice entirely gone. "It's okay to want that, you know. To want someone you can break down with. To want someone who cares about you, who will be there for you."

Someone who cares about you, huh?

Before he met his Father. Before he'd met his brothers. Before he'd become Robin.

He'd gone through the Year of Blood.

On his ninth birthday, his mother had ordered him to complete 365 heinous tasks, one for each day of the year, as a test. Mostly they involved stealing some item as proof of the tasks completion.

Some could be completed without bloodshed.

Some had bloodshed occur incidentally, when the item could not be acquired without it.

And for some? The bloodshed was the entire point.

He'd been trying in some small way to make up for the harm he caused during that year, replacing the stolen artifacts, sending money to help with repairs for any damage he'd caused.

But there were some things he could never give back.

Three Years Ago

_Another mission. Another theft._

_He'd been successful, of course. As expected of an Al Ghul._

_But now he could put that behind him, at least for a little while, and paint. Ra's approved of his followers pursuing more artistic pursuits as well, though he'd also argue that assassination was an artform in and of itself._

_He tried to lose himself in the act, painting stroke after stroke, depicting a thunderstorm._

_It was a clear day outside._

_His faithful servant Ravi stood by his side._

_"Beautiful," he said. Damian didn't look up, not wanting to look at or think about anything but painting. "You are as dedicated with the brush as you are a blade, Lord Damian. My eyes behold the masterpiece of creation all around, and like the great masters, you have managed to capture a piece of it. I never thought I would see talent like theirs in my lifetime. I am the student to this day. Judging from the heft of this satchel, I assume the mission in Egypt was successful?"_

_Damian said nothing. Luckily, Ravi had always been good at reading him._

_In this case, it would've been better if he wasn't._

_"Do not trouble yourself. Art is best for the soul and body. I will deliver your hard-won spoils to the gates of Ra's Al Ghul's citadel and return with more supplies for the lesson."_

_Ravi had walked off, Damian still not tearing his eyes away from the canvas._

_Only later did he find out exactly what had happened. Ravi had gone to a storeroom and retrieved more painting supplies, exactly like he said he would._

_But along the way, he had stumbled across Ra's Al Ghul in the middle of a sacred ceremony. One such as he was not allowed to witness such a thing._

_And so, he would never witness anything else ever again._

_At the time, he knew nothing of this. Only that his mother was steering him in a certain direction, saying that some matter required his attention._

_Until they came across Ravi being held by two guards, a cloaked Ra's Al Ghul in front of him holding a sack filled with some mysterious green liquid._

_"You do not understand! I was only-" he cried out desperately, pleadingly to his beloved leader._

_"Ah, the hand of Ra's at work," Mother commented._

_Grandfather turned slightly to address his daughter. "His eyes trespassed upon the Demon's Head Citadel, Talia. His sight is mine to take."_

_"Please…" Ravi begged._

_Mother leered from behind Damian, an imposing presence choking out any other thoughts or considerations he might have had, trapping him between her and Grandfather. "Do you wish to spare this man his punishment, son?" she asked him silkily, almost gently. "Would you pay his debt yourself and give up your strength for his weakness? Pardon him, if you wish. It is your right."_

_Give up his strength for another's weakness? Take another's rightful punishment?_

_Be blinded in Ravi's place?_

_He knew the right answer._

_Ravi made one last plea, this time to Damian himself. "Please. F-forgive me, Lord."_

_Damian stared at him for a moment. Then - "Fool."_

_As Damian turned around, Ravi screamed, "Please! PLEASE!"_

_Ra's plunged a fork into the sack, exploding the liquid into Ravi's eyes._

_He no longer had to hear Ravi screaming words. They were no longer that coherent. Just the senseless screams of a man whose eyes were being seared by acid, such that they'd never see again._

A Few Months Ago

_Back on Al Ghul island, as he picked up more of his ill-gotten gains from the havoc he'd wreaked as part of the Year of Blood, he looked back at Ravi. Even after all that, Ravi had stayed on as his servant, now blinded. He never held Damian's role in his mutilation against him._

_Even still, he stared unseeingly at the canvas Damian had been painting that day, reaching out to touch it, as he could never see it visually again. "Beautiful," he murmured._

_Damian had looked back at him sadly, guiltily as he left. _

_He could put back as many artifacts as he liked. But some things could never be repaired, could never be taken back._

"I don't need someone like that," he told Ducard, using his grappling gun to launch himself away. Quietly he said to himself, "I don't deserve it."


	6. Chapter 6

(A/N) At last, the Hawkmoth takedown! This was a challenge to write - I'm not used to action scenes - but I hope you like what I came up with! It gave me the chance to be a little self-indulgent about his takedown at least. Because there's a certain thing in the tags that I've wanted to happen to Gabriel for a looong time.

* * *

"You remember the plan?" Damian asked.

Adrien, Marinette, and Ducard nodded.

About an hour after he'd left Ducard, he'd seen reports that Ladybug and Chat Noir were running around Paris. Deciding that this probably meant they were done talking for now, he'd met up with them again.

Ladybug had yelled at him about kidnapping them and stealing their Miraculous. He'd just stood there, bored. He'd had worse.

His mouth twitched as he suppressed a smile, thinking of when she asked about the position she and Adrien had found themselves in.

_"And another thing!" she yelled, clearly trying to get out all her pent-up frustration and anger before they faced Hawkmoth, "you had no right putting us on top of each other like that!"_

_Chat looked hurt, eyes dropping to the ground, tail drooping._

_Ladybug noticed immediately. Her voice softened. "I'm not complaining about the result, just that he put us in a somewhat intimate position like that without even knowing us, much less with consent."_

_Chat perked up again, his tail doing a happy little twitch, and he nodded, agreeing with her._

_Damian sniggered._

_Ladybug scowled at him. "And what's so funny?!"_

_"Ducard and I DIDN'T position you two on top of each other," he said. "Both of you were a few feet away from each other, backs against the wall."_

_Ladybug's eyes furrowed. "Then how-"_

_She stopped._

_And groaned._

_"I crawled into his lap I'm guessing?" Ladybug said, resigned._

_Damian nodded, still smirking._

_She sighed. "I really shouldn't be surprised. When I was little and stayed in Maman and Papa's bed, I'd apparently end up sandwiched between them regardless of where I started out. Papa used to call me a heat-seeking missile."_

_She glared at Damian again. "You're still on the hook for everything else though."_

_Damian leaned back, waiting for her to finish berating him. He'd survived Pennyworth's lectures. This? This was nothing._

"What're you smiling about?" Marinette asked him suspiciously.

Damian ignored her, checking the cameras instead. "Gabriel's in the dining hall, so we should have a good window right now. I just started looping the cameras. We're invisible starting… now!"

The four of them quietly snuck from Adrien's room to Gabriel's atelier, Damian quickly picking the lock. Child's play for a former member of the League of Assassins, or a Robin for that matter.

Damian made his way over to the portrait of Emilie, pressing the sequence of buttons he'd captured Gabriel using to access the massive underground chamber.

He wanted to know where the second sequence he'd seen Gabriel enter on the cameras would lead, but now wasn't the time. While he suspected that it had something to do with the other secret room, the one he'd been unable to gain access to, he couldn't be sure. Even if it was, he didn't know what to expect to find. He could handle anything Hawkmoth threw at him, he was sure. But his companions? Maybe not.

Plus…

He looked over at Adrien.

Truthfully, Damian didn't need to visit that underground chamber again. He'd seen most of what he needed to for now.

But Adrien DID.

He hadn't asked, but… he needed to see his mother.

If Damian had a beloved family member he thought was dead, but turned out to be merely asleep, no force on heaven or earth would have been able to stop him from seeing them. Hell, when he'd discovered that Grayson had faked his death, had reunited with him - well, Damian didn't initiate hugs often.

But that day? He'd taken a page out of Grayson's book and glomped him.

(Not that he'd tell anyone ELSE that, and if Grayson ever brought it up he'd just claim he must have memory loss in his old age)

When proposing entering the chamber, he'd justified it as having the kwamis take a closer look at Emilie, see whether they could glean more than he could. Which wasn't a lie - they may be able to figure out what was going on with her even when he couldn't - but it wasn't the main reason. They could go back and examine Emilie after defeating Hawkmoth.

He wasn't going to make Adrien wait that long.

No one had questioned his proposal. Probably because everyone agreed - even if no one stated the true reason out loud.

The elevator activated.

The four of them looked at the small hole in the floor that had opened up, then disappeared.

"...I thought maybe there was some sort of visual distortion with how small that hole looked," Ducard said.

Damian grimaced. "Nope."

"...This is gonna be cramped, won't it?"

"Yep."

And that's how the four of them ended up crammed together within a circle maybe two feet in diameter, heading downwards.

While he had a feeling that Marinette and Adrien were enjoying being so close, he'd really rather not be shoved up against them.

Luckily, the elevator expanded slightly as they moved downwards. It was still cramped and small, but more "sardines in a can" and less "Grayson playing Twister".

As they descended, the cavern opened up around them, the lights coming on.

A sharp intake of breath came from beside him.

Damian looked in the direction of the noise.

Adrien stared forwards, eyes fixed on the distant capsule.

When the doors opened he stumbled out, quickly regaining his balance, and dashed towards the pod where his mother lay.

Marinette ran after him, seeming to not want to let more than a few feet separate her from her partner.

He and Ducard hung back, as Adrien reached his mother.

* * *

SHE WAS HERE.

He ran his finger over the pod, fighting back tears. Just a few feet away, his mother lay, ALIVE.

Frantically he glanced around, searching for a button or switch or something to open it.

"I've got this, kid."

He glanced up.

Plagg flew out, entering the pod's control system. A few seconds later, it opened.

There she was.

Trembling, he stretched out a hand, fearful that she would dissolve into mist.

What if she was an illusion?

But - no.

He touched soft skin.

She was cool, but- she didn't feel dead.

His head snapped up, and he opened his mouth to ask-

There was no need.

Plagg flew around Emilie, Tikki joining him as Marinette caught up.

"She's definitely in a magical coma," Tikki announced after a few tense seconds. "Caused by using a broken Miraculous I'm guessing."

"Can… can you wake her up?" Adrien asked hopefully.

Tikki shook her head. "If it was that simple, Nooroo could've done it."

"Then… how can we heal her?" he asked.

He desperately wanted her to be okay. To have her RIGHT HERE and still lose her…

He bit back a sob.

"I'm not sure yet," Tikki replied. "The last time this happened, I wasn't privy to the details on how the victim was woken up."

"But they DID wake up?" Adrien asked.

She nodded. "Unfortunately, the people who held that knowledge aren't around anymore."

"Even…?"

She shook her head, cutting him off. "ALL the people."

"So it's hopeless after all?" Adrien asked, heart falling.

He KNEW it was too good to be true.

"No. It's not."

Adrien turned around.

Robin looked at him, eyes weirdly gentle. "I know some people, many of whom are skilled in magic. Maybe none of them know the method that was used to wake up the other victim, but I bet at least one of them can come up with a way to bring her back."

"You sure?"

He knew he sounded plaintive, like a small child asking whether the family dog would be okay after being taken to the vet for a severe injury, but at that moment, he _felt _like a small child.

He just… he just wanted his mom back.

Robin shook his head. "Nothing's for sure. But I can give it my best shot. She WILL be taken care of, whatever happens; THAT, I can promise you. And this time, she won't be hidden away. You'll be able to visit her while I try to find a cure."

Adrien bit his lip, tears filling his eyes.

There was hope.

Not much, but more than he'd ever had before.

Marinette placed a hand on his back, giving him a soft, sad smile.

He leaned against her, melting into her touch.

Most of his world may have been upended. But his partner was still here.

An alert sounded from a device Robin was holding, the same one that had displayed the feeds from the cameras Robin had installed. He checked it, eyes widening.

"Down below, NOW!"

Wait, what?

He didn't get a chance to ponder it further.

"Tikki, Spots On!"

Ladybug grabbed him and jumped off the edge of the railing, hooking her yo-yo on one of the supports. Before they descended out of sight, he saw Robin hit a button on the capsule, sealing it once more.

Adrien blushed. They did this kind of thing all the time as Ladybug and Chat Noir, but up close like this untransformed? He felt vulnerable, but… kinda in a good way? He knew that she was more powerful - WAY more powerful than him like this, but also that she would never hurt him. That she'd care about any discomfort he showed. That she'd never take advantage of him, or try to get him to do something he didn't want to do. That she'd protect him.

He didn't need to put up barriers with her to protect himself, didn't need to pretend to be okay when he wasn't. Not now.

He buried his head against her shoulder. Ladybug adjusted her grip, pulling him closer so she could stroke his hair comfortingly.

He fought back a purr. They needed to be stealthy now, and a purr might be a giveaway.

But damn was it tempting.

He felt a soft tap on his shoulder.

He lifted his head reluctantly.

Robin had apparently had the same idea Ladybug did, having fired a grappling gun at one of the supports. His friend had done the same thing, though she'd actually managed to find a small ledge to stand on.

Robin activated the display on his device, zooming in on one particular screen - the one pointed at the elevator shaft.

Someone was descending.

Adrien's stomach twisted.

_Hewasn'treadyhewasn'treadyHEWASN'TREADY-_

Gabriel Agreste, fashion mogul, magical terrorist, and his FATHER, stepped out.

Adrien stopped breathing.

Eyes locked onto the display, he stared as his father strode to the pod.

To his mother.

Footsteps sounded overhead.

Adrien flinched, convinced that somehow his father would hear them. Would charge down and-

And do what?

He shuddered. Before this, he thought the worst he could do was yell at his friends and bar him from seeing them.

Now? Now he was worried his father would flat-out MURDER them if he thought it might help with his goals. He'd never seemed overly concerned with how dangerous his akumas were before after all, and didn't give a crap that they were kids.

Oh no, wait. He DID care, but only because it made it easier to sneer at them about how weak they are.

He really didn't give a damn about anything or anyone outside of his goals, did he?

*kaCHUNKwhirrr*

Adrien shuddered as he heard the pod's door open. Right now, his father was looking at his mother. His mother, who he'd been able to see and visit all along. Could have taken HIM to see her.

But he hadn't.

"There were some new superheroes today."

Adrien gasped slightly, restarting his breathing. Hearing his father's voice - hearing HAWKMOTH'S voice - down here? Made it seem more real to him.

"Robin, from Gotham City, and some new girl, both riding atop a massive beast. Any one of them would make good prey for my akumas, though one seemed more susceptible than the others. There was much turmoil in young Robin, a deep undercurrent of guilt. I just need to figure out how to bring it to the surface, and I'll have my most powerful akuma yet."

A deep undercurrent of guilt? Robin was just a kid - he wasn't even certain he was old enough to be in collège, he was so small. Heck, he still had baby teeth! What could've happened to him that made him feel so guilty?

He looked over at Robin, gauging his reaction. Robin had gone stony-faced, holding himself rigidly.

Adrien had a sudden urge to give him a hug. He may not have been too happy about being kidnapped - though he'd never regret the sleepy cuddles that'd resulted from it - but right now, he just wanted to tell Robin that whatever he was feeling so guilty about, it was okay.

"Oh, Emilie… I miss you so much. My last plan may have failed, but soon, soon I will succeed and bring you back to us. I will destroy Ladybug and Chat Noir and take their Miraculous!"

Destroy.

That sounded an awful lot like 'kill'.

"Until then, I'll look after our son. He'll never truly be happy until you come back. Everything I do, I do so we can be a family again."

He- he thought- and for that he threatened MURDER- for HIS SAKE?!

For his HAPPINESS?!

_NO._

"Plagg, Claws out!"

"No!" he heard Robin hiss.

He knew he shouldn't do this.

That he should just sit still and quiet.

But hearing him talk about destroying - about KILLING - him and Marinette?

And that it was all for his and his mother's sake? As if they wanted this - As if it EXCUSED this?

He'd sat quietly and done what he was told his whole life.

Now that he could fight back? When his father was THREATENING the people he cared about, and claiming it was for his sake?

He couldn't hide any longer.

"Wha-? Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!"

As Chat propelled himself onto the walkway, a light flashed over his father.

Leaving Chat facing Hawkmoth.

"How did you find this place?!" Hawkmoth spat at him, tapping on Emilie's pod, sealing it shut.

"Because you're an idiot."

Chat glanced back, seeing Ladybug and Robin swinging over the railing. Briefly he wondered where Ducard was, then dismissed the thought. She was Robin's friend, anyone who could keep up with him could probably take care of themselves.

Robin continued, "Honestly, did you really think NO ONE would notice that the floor plans didn't match the actual Manor? You wouldn't have lasted a week in Gotham."

His father scoffed. "This will be your undoing. You think that mere CHILDREN can defeat me? Or did you return for another beating?"

"_How. Dare. You._" Ladybug hissed, looking like she dearly wished she was Kryptonian so she could murder his father with eye lasers.

"...Why."

His father frowned. "Excuse me?"

"WHY?!" Chat yelled, clenching his fist. "Why would you DO this?! HOW could you do this?!"

"To bring her back to me," His father gestured at the pod behind him, "I would do ANYTHING."

Chat gritted his teeth. "She would HATE what you've done. Hate YOU. Mom wouldn't want this!"

He froze.

OH NO.

"...Adrien?"

He didn't answer, just intensifying his glare in response.

"You would let your mother stay like this? How ashamed would she be of you, of her SON, who should love her above all else?"

Ashamed?

No…

NO.

She wouldn't be… Mom wouldn't be… she cared. She was a GOOD PERSON. There's no way she'd go along with father's plans!

She- she wouldn't be ashamed of him… right?

Guilt gnawed at his stomach.

He glanced over at Ladybug, still glaring daggers at Hawkmoth.

Even if she was… he couldn't betray his friends. Couldn't endanger people.

He may be a bad son.

But he just… couldn't do that.

His father rushed forwards suddenly, driving his cane into Chat's stomach.

All air left his lungs as he was flattened on the floor.

Leaving him motionless, unable to scrape together the energy to do more than twitch.

His father loomed over him, glaring down, angry and disappointed.

"_GET AWAY FROM HIM!_"

Ladybug barreled into his father, sending him flying.

Leaning down, she took Chat's hand. "Don't listen to a word he says. Don't let him reverse the roles. HE'S the bad guy, NOT YOU. You hear me, Chat? NOT. YOU."

He teared up, giving her a quick hug.

Wait.

Why wasn't his father attacking?

"TOUCH HIM AGAIN AND I'LL KILL YOU!"

*sning* *sning*

Chat watched as Robin swiped at Hawkmoth with the long metal claws he'd just extended from his gloves.

Ok, how did ROBIN have retractable claws while he didn't?!

Hawkmoth dodged most of the blows, though a few connected.

Mere metal couldn't pierce a Miraculous-made suit.

But it didn't need to.

Chat narrowed his eyes.

At first glance, it looked like Robin was simply swinging wildly in a rage, attempting to hurt Hawkmoth as much as possible. But looking closer, most of the blows were just below the neck area.

Right where the Butterfly Miraculous rested.

Unfortunately, his father realized it too.

He jumped back thirty feet, far out of range.

Cursing profusely, Robin attempted to follow him, firing off a zipline, swinging himself closer to Hawkmoth.

But to no avail. His father simply jumped out of range again.

Chat staggered to his feet, Ladybug slinging her arm around his shoulders, propping him up. "I'm- I'm okay. We have to-" he sputtered out.

He glanced behind Ladybug.

"MOVE!"

He threw himself and Ladybug to the side, rolling them out of the way of Hawkmoth's attack.

But that didn't save him from the follow-up hit.

His father slammed his cane into Chat's back. "You'd go this far for HER, for some girl, but not for your own mother?!" he sneered. "These _friends_ of yours… they only want to drag you down, use you."

Ladybug extracted herself from Chat's embrace and threw her yo-yo, attempting to lasso his father. He knocked the yo-yo aside. "If Ladybug cared for you, she'd use her Miraculous and yours to revive your mother!"

He kicked Ladybug to the floor, leaving both her and Chat groaning. Slowly he walked towards Chat, seeming to savor the moment. "Oh Adrien… I gave you everything you could need. I raised you to be _perfect_. I gave you tutors, let you build your brand and influence by allowing you to model for me, even allowed you to hang out with your so-called _friends_, so long as they weren't proving harmful to your education or reputation. I see now that was a mistake. They've poisoned you. The son I knew would never have done anything to endanger his mother. Would have obeyed his father."

Chat turned over, attempting to crawl away - both from his father, and from Ladybug.

His father was targeting him. If he could lead him away, then maybe His Lady could flee, get away long enough to come up with some sort of plan.

Besides his… his father couldn't_ really_\- he knew he was awful, but he's his own son! He'd- he'd-

"Stop," he forced out, attempting to put as much distance as he could between him and his father. His father stared down at him with cold, hard eyes. Same as he always did.

He reached for Chat's hand.

"CATACLYSM!"

The black, destructive energy surrounded his hand. His father cursed, grabbing Chat's wrist tightly enough that it felt like it was leaving bruises, lifting him off the ground.

A light dawned in his father's eyes. He grinned.

"You want to keep the ring? So be it."

He pressed a button on his cane, opening the top.

Chat watched, horrified, as an akuma fluttered out.

"ADRIEN!"

He looked to the side. Ladybug ran toward him, a polka-dotted bag in her hand.

She was too far away. She wouldn't be able to get to him in time.

She didn't have to.

A figure dropped from above.

The butterfly entered Robin's left glove.

"Well, this is unexpected," his father mused.

Robin clutched his head. "GET. OUT."

"You believe that no one will forgive you for your past actions, that you're irrevocably tainted, incapable of washing the blood off of your hands." his father crooned.

"Shut up…" Robin gritted out.

Blood on his hands? The kid hadn't even hit puberty yet.

What the heck was Robin's past like?

"Your mother had you killed, your father and brothers only tolerate you because they don't know the true depths of your evil."

"YOU. DON'T. KNOW. ME." Robin screamed.

"But I understand. I can help you. With my help, you can erase everything wrong you did, undo all harm. You won't have to worry about the rest of your family abandoning you anymore, and finally you can be free of the guilt."

"I… I don't…"

Robin sounded… lost. Confused. Like a small child, wandering around looking for something, anything familiar to cling to.

From what his father was describing, it was no wonder. Seriously, what the HELL had this kid been through?

"Just bring me Ladybug's and Chat Noir's Miraculous, and I can help you fix EVERYTHING."

"I…"

*THWACK*

A red-and-black spotted bag rammed down on Hawkmoth's head, using Chat's staff as a handle.

Which normally would probably be as effective as using a plastic bag on Robin had been earlier.

...Except that Ladybug had apparently learned from that and decided to do more than just temporarily blind Hawkmoth for two seconds.

Namely, by using the make-shift butterfly net to scoop up several of the soon-to-be-akumas in it first.

And with his father already having his mouth open to continue monologuing…

He coughed and sputtered as several butterflies invaded his mouth.

Taking advantage of his father's distraction, Chat quickly rolled to his feet, reaching out and touching Robin's glove with his still-active cataclysm.

The glove disintegrated, freeing the akuma.

Ladybug quickly caught it in her yo-yo, before attempting to wrap it around his father again.

He stumbled back, spitting out butterfly wings - but still managed to just avoid the string.

The butterfly brooch pulled away, seemingly on its own.

His father froze, as Hawkmoth was replaced by Gabriel Agreste.

"Wha-"

He tried to snatch the brooch out of midair where it floated, but it darted away.

The brooch zoomed off. His father tried to run after it, but Ladybug was having none of it. For the third time, she tried to lasso him.

This time, she succeeded.

He crashed to the floor, cursing.

The brooch floated towards Robin.

Ducard flickered into view, holding the Miraculous.

Oh.

So his memories of her appearing out of thin air _weren't_ delusions; she could turn invisible.

She must've been sneaking around the entire battle, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Shakily he walked over to his father.

He glared up at him, sneering - but with a hint of fear in his eyes.

Only a couple minutes ago his father had loomed over him.

Now their situations were reversed.

Looking down at him like this, he didn't seem like the powerful, terrifying figure he'd been moments before - had been for most of Adrien's life if he was being honest with himself.

But now? He was just a guy.

He wasn't some overwhelming force, overshadowing everything Adrien thought or did.

Nor a looming threat over all of Paris, waiting to prey on any negative emotion, any moment of sadness, anger, or fear.

He was just a man.

He always had been.

"Well?" his father spat. "Are you really going to do this, my son? Leave your mother in a coma? Strike back against me?"

"_Stop calling me that_," he hissed. "DON'T call me your son - not after this. You never cared about me as a person, as your son - just as your property. You didn't 'allow' me to model for you - you _mandated_ it. I didn't want to 'build my brand' - just have friends, go outside - be a regular kid! But that wasn't something _you_ cared about so it didn't _matter_ to you.

And you've been doing the same thing as Hawkmoth! I love Mom, I want her back - but the price would be to submit someone else to her fate. I can't do that. Even if I didn't know them, someone else would still pay the price. Whether they were close to me personally, they still _matter_.

But not to you. You only place value on those you consider to _belong_ to you. And even then only when they do what you consider 'acceptable'. Everyone else is just… just tools for you to get what you want, or obstacles to get in your way!"

He turned away. "I won't be your tool. Not anymore. I'm not _yours_."

"How COULD you! I gave you everythi-"

*CRACK*

Chat whipped around.

Gabriel lay on the ground, unconscious. Robin standing beside him, fist still extended.

"What? Did you really need to listen to him rant on anymore?" Robin asked.

Chat shook his head. "No, I- thank you."

His Miraculous beeped twice.

Three paw pads left.

"Claws in."

Light flashed over him, Plagg leaving the ring.

Adrien pulled out some cheese for him from his inside jacket pocket.

Watching Plagg devour the cheese wedge, his stomach seized as he thought of something.

"I'm- I'm going to have to give you back," he stammered, his face green.

Plagg paused his eating. "What nonsense are you talking about? I thought we settled this before. I'm not leaving. You're stuck with me, kid."

"But - I don't have a choice now," his eyes watered. He fought to keep them down. He had a feeling that if he started crying right now, he wouldn't be able to stop. "He knows I'm Chat Noir. He might not be able to do anything himself, but what's going to stop him from just telling everyone? Even if the media refused to air it, he's bound to run into people in prison he can tell."

"He won't tell anyone, because he won't remember."

Adrien turned towards Robin, worried. "You knocked him out so hard you gave him amnesia?"

Robin scoffed. "No. If I tried, he'd probably end up in the hospital for brain damage. I know of an organization with a special tool that can erase memories like that."

"...Should I ask whether this is legal?"

"No."

"Is it safe at least?"

"For this? It shouldn't cause him any harm. There's not much to make him forget."

He breathed out. He was still trepidatious, but… well, some part of him wanted to trust Robin. And if it came between Gabriel's safety and Plagg's safety? (And he wasn't going to kid himself, Plagg would try to follow him even if he gave the Black Cat Miraculous back to Fu.) He would choose Plagg.

Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder. "Adrien? Are you- of course you're not okay, who would be? But…"

He shot her a small smile. It felt false. "I'll be fine."

Her eyebrows creased. She looked even more worried, but didn't press the subject.

Ducard walked over to Ladybug, handing over the brooch. "I'm guessing you know what to do with this?"

She nodded. "We'll make sure the Miraculous goes where it belongs," she said, taking the piece of jewelry and stowing it in her yo-yo.

Adrien wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was so… final. He kept on believing that in a minute he might blink and be back where he was, with Hawkmoth leering over him, winding up to hit him.

But… the brooch was gone now. He couldn't just… wake up and grab it. It was out of his reach, even if he _did_ wake up unexpectedly.

It just seemed unreal.

Ladybug retrieved her Lucky Charm, throwing it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The ladybugs swirled around them, repairing what little damage had been done.

The raw ache in Adrien's body disappeared. He hadn't even realized how much he was still feeling his father's beating until it was gone.

A ringtone sounded from his father's unconscious body. Adrien blinked.

Mechanically he walked over, looking at the caller ID.

Nathalie's face greeted him.

He stared numbly. In the excitement, he'd forgotten about her.

Robin checked his monitoring device. "She's in Gabriel's office, heading over to the painting."

Heading over to-

His stomach seized.

She definitely knew.

He'd assumed she did, but-

"Everyone, HIDE!" Robin hissed.

Ladybug's earrings beeped. He glanced at them. Only one dot left now.

She cursed, dragging his father into the foliage before crouching down herself.

Adrien followed her lead, crouching down beneath a bush.

"Spots off," she muttered, detransforming.

The yo-yo string that had been wrapped around his father disappeared, leaving him limp on the ground.

Adrien froze, staring at him.

Marinette was _right there_, within easy reach if he woke up.

He wasn't moving beyond the slow, soft rising and falling of his chest.

But- what if he was faking?

He shook his head. No, no. Robin had knocked him out himself. And while his way of making friends was… questionable, his skill was not.

So why couldn't he stop seeing images of him waking up? Of him grabbing her by the neck while she was looking away? Ripping her earrings out, and-

His train of thought ground to a halt, refusing to contemplate what his father might do if Marinette resisted.

"_Breathe, kid, breathe,_" Plagg's voice whispered.

He took a breath, letting it out slowly.

Still, he couldn't help staring, looking for the slightest twitch of movement.

*whirreeee*

Until the noise started up, that is.

He looked over to the elevator, tensing. He wanted to keep watching his father, but with danger on two fronts…

*clunk*

The elevator landed, its doors opening.

Nathalie - his father's assistant, the woman who'd been mostly parenting him since his mother... disappeared, who he thought might even become his stepmother - stepped out.

Hawkmoth's accomplice.

She looked around. "Sir? You didn't answer your phone, are you- AAAH!"

Tripping seemingly on thin air (though Adrien suspected it was rather more solid than that), she faceplanted onto the floor.

As she struggled to get back up, something seemed to be pinning her in place.

"Wha- who-?"

Robin jumped down from where he'd been hanging, retracting his grappling gun's line.

"This is assault!" Nathalie spat. "I don't know how they do things in Gotham, but-"

"I don't think anyone's going to protest taking down Hawkmoth's accomplice," Robin sneered.

Fear flashed across her face. Still, she did her best to maintain her composure. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Right. You just HAPPENED to wander down to Hawkmoth's lair, filled with the butterflies he uses, Gabriel's comatose supposedly-dead wife, while calling for Gabriel."

She glared at him as best she could while face-down, pinned to the ground. "Our lawyers will hear about this."

"You do that." Robin put one of his gloved hands over her face. Within seconds she stopped struggling, going limp.

"You can come out now," he called out.

Adrien emerged from the bush. He looked over at Marinette, making sure she was well out of Gabriel's (potential) reach, before walking over to Nathalie's prone form.

"What did you do to her?" he asked slowly. Intellectually he knew that Nathalie had helped his father, had helped Hawkmoth, but… right now, it was hard to see anything but the woman who'd taken care of him for the past several months. Even knowing what she'd done, he didn't want to see her hurt.

"Same thing I did to you and Marinette. She'll wake up in a few hours."

"Wait, you had that stuff still on hand?"

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

"Then why didn't you use that to knock my father out?"

"I wanted to punch him," Robin said simply.

Adrien opened his mouth… and then closed it. He couldn't really deny that sentiment.

"What now?" he asked instead.

Robin looked at him. "You two can head home. I can take it from here."

Marinette stalked up, seeming like she was about to protest… and then glanced over at Adrien. Her face softened. She looked back over at Robin. "DON'T hurt Nathalie, and make sure to give Gabriel back after wiping his memory. They'll need to stand trial. And if you find the Peacock Miraculous, give it STRAIGHT over. No tests, no funny business. Got that?"

He glared at her a moment, but nodded. Ducard cut in, "I'll make sure you get the Peacock back, don't worry."

She stared at them both, as if searching for their intentions, then nodded.

Turning towards Adrien, she gave him a small smile, putting her arm around his shoulders. "Come on kitty, let's go home."

Home…? Where…?

With her.

She meant going home WITH HER.

Shakily he drew in breath. "Yeah. Let's go home."

His father might be a monster.

His caretaker might be an accomplice.

His mother might be unconscious.

But he still had people who loved him.

He still had places to call home.

* * *

(A/N) In case anyone was wondering why Chat didn't push back directly, physically against his father much; it was really important to me that in Chat Blanc, once Chat knew Hawkmoth was his father, he never laid a hand on him, even with as furious and hurt as it was, while GABRIEL knowingly beat his son into the Eiffel Tower. I wanted to preserve that.

I had the bit with Maya taking the brooch planed for a long time. One of the difficult parts was giving everyone something to do; Hawkmoth really wouldn't stand much of a chance against all four of them, not for long, and I really wanted to give everyone a role to play. With Maya's main power being her invisibility suit, she seemed like the perfect one to snatch his Miraculous.


	7. Chapter 7

In the end, he had to be carried to his new home.

(Home. He'd used that word so many times before in the past, but it'd never felt like this before. In the past, it'd meant cavernous walls, an unending schedule, extreme loneliness and busyness spun together.)

(Now? Now it felt like Marinette's soft looks, her gentle touch, warmth and care forming a fuzzy blanket that almost had him purring just thinking about it.)

He'd managed to walk out to the elevator and leave his father's office. As soon as he stepped foot in the main entryway, he just couldn't seem to find enough oxygen. He breathed faster and faster, his head swimming as fireworks exploded behind his eyes.

Focusing on Marinette's face, he tried desperately to keep himself conscious and upright. She helped support him, throwing his arm over her as she tried to keep him from crumpling to the ground.

Bright pink light flashed over her, a familiar mask forming on her face.

…

…

…

He was on the floor.

Why was he on the floor?

"Adrien!"

He looked up.

His Lady looked down at him, terrified.

He didn't like that look on her face.

"I'm- I'm fine," he mumbled, he tried to reassure her.

Her eyes crinkled, tears shining in her eyes. "You're NOT fine. No one would be. You don't need to pretend for me, Adrien."

She propped him up on her lap. "I- I won't pretend to know what this has been like. I can't even imagine what you're feeling right now. But no one expects you to be okay, Adrien. I don't expect you to be okay. And I don't want you to force yourself to appear fine to- to make me feel better!"

He swallowed. That- he had to admit that was a factor. He was so used to being ignored or chastised if he showed any negative emotions, he just… kept on trying to hide them. He knew Ladybug wouldn't leave him or lash out, or even just dismiss him if he expressed his distress, but-

A little corner of his brain kept on nagging at him, telling him to keep on smiling, to keep quiet, or he'd lose any scrap of comfort and affection he had.

"I- I-!" he choked, a solid lump in his throat impeding his words. She just held him tighter, her own tears falling on him as he sobbed.

After several minutes, he began running out of tears. Ladybug stayed with him the whole time, stroking his hair, never making any move to dislodge him or hurry him up.

He must've looked awful at this point, red-eyed and bleary-faced, snot trails running from his nose.

But while his father would say how unbecoming he looked and order him to clean himself up, Ladybug showed no sign of disgust.

He knew she wouldn't. He knew it! She'd even comforted him as he cried before, but- after fighting his father. He just. He had trouble making himself believe it.

Gently she asked, "Do you think you can stand?"

Swallowing thickly, he nodded. Ladybug helped him to his feet, partially supporting him.

He was grateful for it. His legs felt as wobbly as a newborn giraffe's. If she let go, he was afraid he might fall again.

She shot him a concerned look but said nothing, helping him out the front door of the mansion.

She stopped, biting her lip. After a moment of glancing back and forth between Adrien and somewhere off into the distance, she hesitantly asked, "Would you like a lift? Only if you're okay with that!" she added hastily. "I don't want to make you feel like you have to do anything or take any options from you, I just- I don't want you to overexert yourself and get hurt."

Her carry him home? Unbiddenly, his mind shot back to earlier that day - was it only a few hours ago? - when she carried him to a distant rooftop to talk.

Being held in her strong arms, knowing how powerful she was, but that she'd never hurt him, that she'd be gentle and kind and try to protect him - not like his father's "protection" that was just an excuse to control him, treating him like a possession? But actually paying attention to how he was feeling and any signs of distress and adjusting to make him more comfortable -

It- it had made him feel cared for, feel heard, in ways that he hadn't experienced since Mom disappeared.

He nodded, trying not to look too eager. "I'd- I'd like that very much."

She gave him a small smile, picking him up.

It was a short trip - Ladybug could travel fast when she wanted to, and the mansion wasn't really that far away from where she lived. Still, it was a nice respite before he had to deal with the world again. He could just concentrate on the wind in his hair and Ladybug's support and not have to think about what just happened, or what would happen next.

Too soon it was over. Ladybug alighted on her balcony, placing him in her lawn chair.

He relaxed into it for a moment, just letting himself go limp.

"Do you want me to get my parents?" Ladybug asked. "Or would you like to come downstairs and talk to them there? Or just wait a little bit? We'll need to talk to them soon, but - it doesn't have to be now."

He took in a deep breath and let it out. "I think I can make it down the ladder. Are you sure they'll be okay with me being here though?"

Ladybug let out a quick, sharp laugh. "Once they find out what happened, you'll have a hard time getting them to let you go. Adrien, I'm pretty sure they've been planning our wedding since you first came over to train for that Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament. They'll be FINE with you staying over, I promise."

Well if Ladybug was saying this, then it must be true.

Gingerly he extracted himself from the chair. Ladybug hovered over him, ready to catch him if he fell.

At last he stood up, feeling steadier than he had a few minutes ago. "I think I'm ready."

Getting down the ladder and the stairs was an adventure. Ladybug went first, waiting for him at the bottom just in case. He made it down the ladder fine, though he sat on her bed a moment before braving the stairs.

Marinette detransformed and went on the first step, staying just a few steps in front of him in case he collapsed. He didn't totally like that approach - if he fell, he might take her down with him - but she wouldn't let him go downstairs without her having the possibility of catching him.

"Marinette? Where've you been? We've been so worried- ADRIEN?!"

He startled slightly, shrinking back.

Marinette gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry mom, with everything that happened, I forgot to look at my phone."

"Plus I was unconscious for a few hours," she muttered under her breath, quietly enough that only Adrien could hear it.

"Everything that happened…?" Sabine peered at Adrien and Marinette more closely. "Adrien, have you been crying? And both of you look dead on your feet! Are you two okay?!"

Okay? Adrien let out a quick laugh. It sounded almost like a sob. "Not exactly. My Father's Hawkmoth."

"What?!"

He and Marinette sat down and explained, improvising a story of how Ladybug and Chat Noir had teamed up with Robin after having discovered Hawkmoth's identity (thankfully the news had been speculating about Robin's appearance in Paris for the past few hours, so they didn't need to come up with that part of the story).

"Ladybug knows Adrien and I are friends," Marinette explained. "She asked me to come with her to help break the news to him. She didn't want him to first discover this through the news, and she figured that with his whole world breaking down around him, he'd need a friend."

"Ladybug and Chat Noir took us somewhere safe and out of the way while they helped deal with Hawkmoth," Adrien chimed in. "I'm sorry I occupied Marinette for so long, please don't be mad at her."

"I'm not mad. Marinette, I'm proud of you for helping your friend. What do you two need? Have you eaten lately?"

Adrien blinked. Come to think of it…

"Some food would be great, Mom," Marinette told her. "As for something we need… could Adrien stay here? At least for now. This hasn't hit the news media yet, and the idea of him staying in that mansion right now…"

Sabine nodded. "Of course. I'll need to tell Tom, but Adrien, you're welcome to stay as long as you need."

"Tell me what? Did you find out anything-? MARINETTE!"

Tom rushed over and swept her into a hug.

"Let her breathe, Tom."

"Oh, sorry."

He let go, stepping back a bit. "You better have a good explanation, young lady," he told her, attempting to put on a stern parent voice, somewhat undercut by the bear hug a moment before.

He glanced to the side, noticing Marinette's guest. He began to grin. "Adrien! This is a surprise. Do you have something to do with this?"

Sabine shook her head. "He does, but not the way you're thinking. I'll explain while we fix the kids food, they've had a long day."

He and Marinette spent most of the rest of the day in her room, playing video games, trying to put the Hawkmoth situation out of their minds, at least for awhile. Tom offered to set up the sofa in the living room for him for the night (after giving him a crushing hug; Adrien appreciated how much Tom cared, but he wished the care wouldn't hurt so much).

Staying in the living room sounded tempting, but… he'd ended up asking to stay with Marinette, at least for this first night. Tom had given him an understanding look and pulled out an air mattress for him.

He woke up during the night, and just… couldn't get back to sleep. After awhile he started to feel antsy. He didn't want to wake Marinette up, but he desperately needed fresh air. Very, very careful, he stepped on her bed, being careful to stick to the edge of the mattress so as not to step on her (she may have been sleeping heavily, but he was pretty sure that at least would wake her up) and opened the hatch door onto the balcony.

Breathing in the cool night air, he sighed. Normally he'd transform and run around rooftops when he needed to clear his head, but Plagg had been sleeping as well.

Plus, well… he wanted some fresh air, but he didn't really want to go that far away from Marinette. Not right now. Not after everything that'd happened.

"You're up late."

Adrien whipped around.

Robin stood behind him.

"How did you- How long were you- You weren't there a minute ago!"

"Tt."

"How did you do that?!"

"Gabriel Agreste's memory has been wiped of the last 12 hours," Robin announced, completely ignoring his questions. "I took the liberty of informing the police of his identity and his location."

"His location…?"

"The second secret lair, the one he appears to have been sending butterflies from. I left Nathalie in the first one. Both knocked out, and with certain measures in place to ensure they don't escape even if they do wake up. With the photos and notes I left, it gives the police a certain… 'incentive' to check out those locations, and an excuse to do so."

His stomach flipped.

Nathalie and his father.

His mother.

Everything rushed back to him.

He'd been trying to distract himself all evening.

But it lingered in the background, as impossible to get away from as Plagg's stinky cheese fumes.

He dropped onto the lawn chair, curling in on himself.

What now?

"Your mother had you killed, your father and brothers only tolerate you because they don't know the true depths of your evil.

But I understand. I can help you. With my help, you can erase everything wrong you did, undo all harm. You won't have to worry about the rest of your family abandoning you anymore, and finally you can be free of the guilt."

He startled, his father's offer resurfacing from the depths of his memories.

He wasn't the only one hurting.

"Robin… what my Father was talking about when he tried to akumatize you…"

Robin turned away, looking off into the distance. For a moment, Adrien feared he'd scared him off.

"You're not the only one with a terrible parent."

* * *

Obtaining a Hypnos implant hadn't taken long. He'd only had to gas Gabriel twice to keep him asleep. He would've just kept punching him unconscious, but that actually MIGHT give him brain damage, and while it would've been no great loss to the world, he had a feeling that Adrien at least would've cared.

No, Gabriel would have to look Adrien in the eye and try to explain to him how, WHY he was willing to hurt so many people so badly.

To hurt ADRIEN so badly.

It probably wouldn't be satisfying, but- at least he could ask.

And not fear winding up on the other end of a cane.

He'd wanted to update Adrien and Marinette on what he'd done, but he hadn't really expected either of them to be awake. Adrien's emergence from the hatch had been a pleasant surprise.

He hadn't expected to be asked about his past.

But… maybe it would help. If anyone could understand what Adrien had just gone through, it was him.

"You're not the only one with a terrible parent."

Adrien blinked and frowned. "I remember Father saying something about her having you killed? That… that must've been a mistake, right?" He gestured at Damian. "I mean, you're here now, you're not dead. Unless those rumors about the Batfamily being vampires was true."

"It wasn't a mistake."

Adrien looked confused.

Damian sighed. "My father didn't know I existed. My mother didn't tell him, not until a decade later. She wanted to raise me her way - as an assassin, and heir to the criminal organization "The League of Shadows".

"An ASSASSIN?!"

"I was six years old when I killed another person for the first time."

Adrien gaped at him, eyes bugging out of his head.

Hm. Guess that wasn't a regular thing to hear for him? He knew he was fairly young to be a killer, but in the circles he ran in, it wasn't THAT unusual. At least to be trained to kill.

If something as minor as that shocked him, the rest of his background was going to be nearly inconceivable.

But he needed to try. Some of the things Gabriel had said and done to Adrien were very, very familiar. He needed to know he wasn't alone.

"When I was ten years old, my mother dropped me off with my father, Batman, temporarily. She took me back soon afterwards, but… well even then, I knew I'd rather stay with him, than with her."

"Yeah, no wonder," Adrien muttered.

"Tt. Not long after I ended up in Gotham again, this time to stay. But… most of my family didn't trust me. Father certainly hadn't. Nightwing and our butler, the man who raised my father, were the only ones to give me a chance.

Nightwing made me his Robin. Made me his partner.

Mother didn't approve. When my spine was broken-"

"Your spine was WHAT?!"

Frantically examining Damian from every angle, Adrien nearly vibrated with concerned energy. "How are you STANDING? Do you need to sit down? Are you okay?"

Yeesh. Adrien mother-henned worse than Grayson did. He waved his hands dismissively. "I've had worse. Not like I could feel it after the paralysis, it was just annoying. The bad part was, needing to go to Mother for a spine replacement."

He shuddered. His mother's words, her attitude… he'd seen them mirrored in Gabriel.

Two Years Ago

"I cared for you when there was no one else. I believed in you."

Of course Mother sat on a plush throne, specially raised up several steps. Made it easier to look down at him, especially right now, with being confined to this cursed wheelchair.

She always did have a flair for the dramatic, for letting him know who was really in charge.

"And I know what's best for you, Damian. To see you squander your future on a delusion, well… that's what breaks my heart."

Breaking her heart? Yeah right.

"I saw you rarely during my education and upbringing, Mother. I knew you by reputation alone. When we were formally introduced at my eighth birthday party, it was like meeting a movie star. This appeal to emotions comes a little late."

Her face hardened. "Don't you understand how it suits them to indulge this affectation of yours? They do it to keep you from realizing your greatness. They feed you lies and distortions."

She rose from her throne, descending the stairs down to his level.

"Do you honestly believe these… crimefighters trust you? Or accept you? Damian, their plan is to tame and brainwash you until nothing is left but a spineless puppet."

Crouching down, she reached out a hand, gently caressing his cheek.

"The world could be ours. Stay with the circus oaf and his butler and perhaps you'll be lucky enough to rise through the ranks of the Teen Titans. Or not. Your father is gone. His former Boy Wonder is barely fit to wear his mentor's mantle and you…"

NO.

His mother could try to manipulate him all she wanted, but insulting Grayson?

"You're wrong. Dick Grayson is…"

She put her fingers against his lips, silencing him.

"Shh. The time has come to do as your mother commands. And end this nonsense at one stroke…"

He turned around, wheeling away. "I won't be your weapon against them, Mother."

"We'll see."

Adrien gaped at him, his eyes bugging out. Strangled sounds coming out of his mouth. Slowly, he staggered to the lawn chair, plopping down, unable to continue standing.

He breathed heavily, staring vacantly forwards.

"It's… it's not just my father who was like that. She… your mother too? It's… it's not just me."

Damian nodded. "Emotional manipulation. Pretending to be close to you, to only want what's best you… just to let you know how much you've disappointed them, how much better things would be if you obeyed them, tearing down everyone who's actually supported you, listened to you, CARED about you as a person. Framing any disagreement as foolish and childish, and anything that they do to you, or anything bad that happens to you as a result, as a natural consequence.

Even knowing what Mother was doing… it still hurt.

But she didn't just leave it at words.

The spine she gave me could be remotely controlled. She physically controlled my body, tried to make me kill my partner with my own hands. Afterwards, I HAD to confront her again."

Two Years Ago

"Take off that ridiculous costume. It's not normal."

Damian stared at her in disbelief. "You put machines in my spine! You turned me into a remote-controlled robot! What's normal about that?"

Talia stopped walking as they reached the end of the corridor, turning to face him.

"I tried to save you. I wanted to end this before it destroys you. And I wanted you to feel no guilt…"

From his perspective, SHE was the one he needed saving from. "Save me? Save me from what? Being Robin is the best thing I've ever done, Mother. And even if my Father DOES return, this is the life I've chosen to lead. I don't need you to save me."

"I see. I feared that's how you might react."

She sounded resigned. But… not like she'd given up entirely, exactly.

What was she plotting?

She pressed a button, opening a door. Damian followed after her. "Where are we going? What's the point of all this? There's nothing more to be said, Mother."

"I understand that now. I respect your decision. But there's something I'd like you to see."

A baby, floating in a red-lit orb of liquid.

His heart dropped.

An artificial womb, just like the one he'd been grown in.

Gently, Talia put her hand against the orb. "He's you. Another you, made from the same augmented DNA combinations. He'll be ten years younger than you when he's born."

Another him?

He wasn't just… just some interchangeable object! Just because he wasn't what she wanted him to be. Just because he wouldn't follow the path she'd laid out for him.

She looked back at him, giving him a small smile, speaking in a gentle, loving tone. "Oh, Dami, not only was the Wayne fortune yours… but I would have given you the world as a birthday cake. What more can I do but offer you one last chance to accept your destiny, my darling?"

His destiny.

But it wasn't really his, was it?

It was hers.

Her desires. Her destiny. Dressed up to make it appear to be for his own sake. To make him seem like an ungrateful child for refusing.

"Can't you just love me for who I am? Not what you want me to be?"

She glared down at him, tall and imposing. Any motherly affection or care drained from her face.

"No. That's not my nature. I'm too much of a perfectionist.

I'll always love you in my own way. And I will permit you to leave with your circus boy in tow. But from now on, Damian, you are no longer welcome here. You may consider yourself an enemy of the House of Al Ghul."

He turned away for a moment. So that was it. He could ever earn her affection, so long as he had his own will, so long as he followed a path she had not deemed fit.

And if that was enough for her to deem him an enemy?

He looked back at her, resolve hardening his expression. "Very well. I hope I can be a worthy one, Mother."

Adrien stared at him. "You know it's not your fault, right? It's hers. A mother shouldn't- a PARENT shouldn't- they shouldn't hurt you and claim it's for your own sake, or- or replace you if you don't fit their 'standard' of following their every whim - especially when those whims hurt other people!"

Ha. He had no idea. "I did follow her though - for a long time. Until I turned ten. Before that, I followed the path she and my grandfather had laid out for me."

Adrien looked down for a moment. "Father mentioned how you felt like you were tainted. Had blood on your hands," he murmured to himself. "That you couldn't be forgiven."

Damian's throat tightened. Stiffly, he nodded. "I've done a lot of terrible things in the past. Goliath? That giant red Bat-dragon? I was sent to murder his entire family, as part of my efforts to prove myself to Mother and the rest of the League of Shadows. I slaughtered one after another, until he was the only one left."

Three Years Ago

"GUARD THE SCEPTER OF KINGS AT YOUR PERIL, BEAST! NEITHER MAN NOR BEHEMOTH SHALL IMPEDE THE AL GHULS AND THE YEAR OF BLOOD!"

He stabbed the blue beast with his sword as more, smaller beasts flew in, crying out, desperately trying to fight him off.

"A litter of vermin? You all dare to challenge me?

"I have traveled too far-"

*stab*

*REEE*

"Delved too deep-"

*stab*

*REEE*

"SLEPT too little-

*fwak*

*thunk*

"To suffer ANY MORE protests!"

Covered in the blood of the creatures he'd killed, he turned towards the latest arrival. "Ah, the littlest and the last. Let us end this as warriors our families wish us to be! What say you, coward?"

*REE?"

A small red bat-dragon, the size of a large house-cat, looked up at him with big, pitiful eyes. No malice. No fear. Just looking a little confused and like it wanted affection.

"FIGHT ME!" he bellowed, eyes wet, blood dripping from his sword.

It walked closer to him. He pointed his sword at it, barely able to see through the tears in his eyes. "No excuses, RUNT. Do not dishonor your family's cause! ALL of their hope now falls to YOU! FIGHT FOR THEM!"

He struck his fire trident against the ground, inches from where the small creature sat.

The creature slowly trotted over to where Damian crouched, leaned over-

And gently licked him on the nose.

Why?

Why would this creature forgive him?

He'd taken EVERYTHING from it- no, from him. Slaughtered the rest of the creature's family, like his own family had demanded.

And yet- and yet-

He turned away, tears falling from his eyes as he lowered his weapons and sunk to the ground. The little creature placed one of his paws on Damian's knee, as if trying to comfort him.

The creature stayed cuddled up against Damian as the light from the fire trident slowly dwindled and died, never showing the least bit of judgement or fear, just continuing to look at him with those wide eyes.

He still didn't understand why Goliath had forgiven him so easily. How he could have seen him raging and killing, and never struck back.

That… that was probably when he'd started liking animals.

They didn't know his past.

They didn't care what he'd done.

They didn't judge him.

They only knew what he showed of himself. He could have a truly blank slate with them.

And… and he hated seeing such creatures killed.

Even with people… well, that wasn't so far off either.

Grayson was the first person he'd really bonded with in his family. The first person to give him a chance, to see him as his own person, to not judge him as the weapon his mother's side of his family had tried to make him into. To look at him, and see him as being good enough.

To accept him.

He looked at Adrien, expecting to see disgust, fear, maybe even anger.

That's what he felt when looking back at that memory, after all.

At what he'd done.

But… that wasn't what he got.

He looked back at him with those accepting, compassionate, understanding eyes.

The same as Grayson's.

The same as Goliath's.

Slowly, Adrien stood up, leaned forwards.

And wrapped his arms around Damian.

"You were just a child," he murmured. "You ARE just a child. They should never- no parent should ever ask their child to DO something like that. And- and I'm proud of you. For standing up to her. I know what that's like. How hard it is. How much you want to prove yourself to them. And how afraid you are of doing something wrong.

You're a GOOD PERSON, Damian. You were just manipulated by someone who wasn't."

Slowly, Damian reached out and hugged him back.

And if some tears fell onto Adrien's shoulders… well, he doubted that Adrien would ever tell.

(He also must've said his actual name at some point during those flashbacks.)

(He'd deal with that later. He'd been thinking of inviting Adrien and Marinette for some training anyway. So at least he wouldn't have to justify blowing his secret identity to do so.)

* * *

Damian pulled away first.

That didn't surprise Adrien. He'd figured that Damian was the prickly sort; he sort of reminded him of Chloe that way. Somewhat conceited, rude, even outwardly mean, and really terrible at making friends… but with deeper reasons behind it all, if you looked.

And with what he'd been through… no wonder.

Looking down at the kid, he gave him his best comforting smile.

Damian might be a great fighter, a powerful ally, an experienced teammate… but he was still just a child. Seeing him like this, eyes rimmed red, trying to hold himself together, as if afraid to show that level of vulnerability for more than a few moments…

He had a pretty good idea how Damian felt when he punched Father. If Damian's mother had been in front of him right then, he'd punch her too.

At least his father had never tried to recruit him into his schemes. Had never tried to manipulate him into doing horrible things.

To force a young child to do such things? To live with those actions for the rest of his life?

To the extent that when he disobeyed, she tried to literally gain control over his body?

That akuma must've been hell for him. Someone else trying to force themselves into gaining control of him, all the while making it sound like the right thing to do?

No wonder Damian reacted the way he did. No wonder he was in so much pain and turmoil.

How was this kid even FUNCTIONING?

Drying his eyes surreptitiously, Damian took off his gloves. He gave them a long look, then handed them over to Adrien.

Adrien blinked.

Um. Why?

"Your fighting display when untransformed was pathetic, compared to what it COULD be. And without a weapon, you'd be dead meat. These may not be the kind of weapons you're used to, but you can wear them openly without suspicion."

Then, these were the pair that…

Carefully, Adrien slid the gloves on, willing the claws to extend.

They popped out, just like he'd imagined when he was 10 and had just watched the X-men movies.

"Be careful not to put your eyes out with those."

Adrien was too busy admiring the claws to give his warning much thought.

This… he'd always wanted claws. Something to defend himself with, as a warning. Something he could slash with, breaking any bond. To ensure he could protect himself, both from others, and from being trapped.

Chat Noir had given him those.

And now Adrien had access to them too.

Turning, he gave Damian the warmest, most glowing smile he could muster. "Thank you."

Damian seemed stunned for a moment, then gave him a tiny smile in return, so fleeting he almost fooled himself into thinking it hadn't been there at all. "Just make good use of them. I don't give them out often. Or ever."

Like he WOULDN'T make good use of Wolverine gloves. "I will."

Damian turned to leave, but as he was raising his grappling gun, he turned back towards Adrien. "Oh, and before I forget -"

He tossed two devices to Adrien.

"Those are communication devices, in case I need to get in contact with you or Marinette," Damian clarified, reading the confusion on his face. "I have a feeling I'll be in touch sooner rather than later."

"Hey… anytime you want to talk, Damian? Just call me. Even if it's not about superhero stuff. Just to talk."

Damian blinked, looking taken aback. Then nodded.

He shot his grappling gun, swinging away into the night.

Adrien stared after him, straining his eyes to follow his small form in the darkness.

Both of them had been molded and shaped by their parents.

But neither had submitted.

They had both made it through their parents' abuse, scarred and with emotional baggage a mile high.

But they were both still here.

And still themselves, despite their parents' best efforts.

It would take a long time, and wouldn't be without strife or difficulty.

But maybe, just maybe… so long as they both had people they cared for, who cared about them.

They'd be okay.

* * *

(A/N) So that's the end - for now at least. I do have some more ideas for this universe, from exploring the consequences of Hawkmoth's defeat, to some increased involvement between the DCU and ML. Dunno when, or for sure if, I'll explore that though. I really wanted to familiarize my ML readers ('cause I'm betting that's most of the people reading this) with some of Damian's backstory. He's had a CRAPTASTIC life, and has suffered through some similar emotional abuse to what Adrien's been through. Those flashbacks Damian had? Those are straight from the comics. (Well, the dialogue is anyway. Damian's thoughts were things I'd inferred.) The flashbacks involving Damian's spine replacement came from "Batman & Robin Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin". The Goliath flashback came from "Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 1: Year of Blood". (I'd give the exact issue numbers, but I have the trades, not the individual comics, and I don't feel like trying to figure out the exact issues those flashbacks came from.) The explanation for why Damian loves animals so much is a headcanon I came up with. The kid has some pretty deep-seated guilt and fear over what he's done and what he might become, along with a desperate need for acceptance and fear of abandonment. I totally understand why he gravitates to animals; he generally doesn't have to worry about any of that with them. Adrien's accepting, understanding, fairly non-judgmental nature and overall compassion would be a breath of fresh air for Damian I think, with Adrien fulfilling a similar sort of role to Dick - someone Damian can count on to listen to him, to see him as a person, not a weapon, who won't write him off, but instead talk with him and try to understand why he does what he does, instead of just yelling at him. To try to see things from his point of view. Seriously, these two would be GREAT friends. Also, Adrien needs to meet Bat-cow. It has to happen.


End file.
